This groundbreaking 16th-century map is known as "America's birth certificate."

A fantastic array of trays and cables once whisked books over to the Capitol at 600 feet per minute.

Corn-inthian columns with a uniquely American take on neoclassical architecture.

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.

This statue of the "father of television" stands prominently in the United States Capitol.

A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.

The walls of the iconic dome are hollow and have a secret stairway.

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

This stately building in Alexandria, Virginia was built by Freemasons to honor one of their most famous members.

The Pentagon is so large that it was planned like a city, complete with internal highway infrastructure.

An oft-overlooked, magically musical monolith that stands majestically between Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."

There’s a hidden military meme engraved on the World War II Memorial.

Four bald cypress trees in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, mark the southern edge of a 100,000 year old cypress swamp.

This tiny lake temple dedicated to a water goddess seems to float on the surface.

Sacred waters rescued from the wrath of a volcano.

One of the holiest places in the region, devotees come to Tirta Empul to bathe in the holy spring water.

Hindu temple of the dead home to hundreds of long-tailed macaques.

Isolated atop this Balinese sea crag is a lovely Hindu temple that is said to be guarded by sea snakes.

This Balinese sea temple is thought to be guarded by the hundreds of monkeys that live around it.

This bridge made famous in a novel and on-screen wasn't actually built over the river Kwai.

A white Buddhist temple with a golden restroom.

The ruins of this Dutch castle sit atop a labyrinth of once-secret tunnels and passageways, dating back over 900 years.

The tallest mountain in mainland Netherlands isn't actually very tall.