15 Secrets of The Statue of Liberty

standing at just over 151 feet tall the Statue of Liberty is a figure of the robed Roman liberty goddess lavertus designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi there is a lot that we know about the Statue of Liberty but are there also things we don't know these are the darkest secrets of the Statue of Liberty number 15 Americans didn't want to pay for it 1880 was the year America almost blew it Americans today look at the Statue of Liberty with great pride it appears on t-shirts postcards general tourist memorabilia and it's hard to imagine the United States of America without him but did you know that it was a gift from France that the American population didn't want it was a French writer and political figure at who are de laboulaye who first floated the idea of celebrating liberty and freedom with a gift from France to the United States an organization was formed to raise the funds necessary to bring it to life but the idea was that France would pay for the Statue while America would foot the bill for the pedestal it sat on France took the idea with great gusto and fundraising operations were underway across the country to come up with the best gift ever back in America however they were stalling no one was all that keen to pay for a gift they didn't really need or want the now cherished symbol of America was labeled as folly by the New York Times many people in New York jumped on the hater bandwagon and decided they too didn't want it but it wasn't until it was threatened that another city namely Boston would get it that they came on board after all you often only want something when someone else does too five years passed and finally there was enough money in the kitty to bring the Statue of Liberty to life it is now cared for by the National Park Service and enjoyed by the millions who visit Liberty Island annually before we go on we have a cool challenge for you all it'll take about five seconds to complete let's make a deal just leave a like on this video smash that subscribe button and hit the notification bell and you will get 10 years of amazing luck and fortune try it it actually works now it's time for the odd topic people the world over are convinced that some statues come to life when we're not looking that's where the whole myth of gargoyles comes from and Doctor Who fans will no doubt be thinking about the weeping angels right now well what if we were to tell you that even the Statue of Liberty has been caught moving there are several tourists who claim to have seen the statue ever-so-slightly move and one even caught it on camera this tourist claims he took the two photos we're showing you right now in quick succession of each other and as you can see in the photo on the right her head seems to have dipped ever so slightly while some think it's a fake and others have suggested it's a mere trick of the light many have been using this photo as evidence that the Statue of Liberty may be possessed or secretly alive in some way what do you think does she have a life of her own comment down below with the hashtag odd topic and let us know your opinion in relation to what we just showed on screen with that said let's keep things moving number fourteen she arrived in pieces imagine receiving a gift from someone and having to assemble it here's your Pony darling now unpack these seventeen boxes and put it together that's essentially what happened with our Lady of Liberty of course you can hardly expect France to ship the giant structure in one large part but she was actually put together and sent over time as fundraising efforts got underway the majority of the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor in mid 1885 and 350 pieces these were packed into 214 crates before them the arm and torch of the Statue sat in Madison Square Garden to raise funds and the pedestal was the sole responsibility of the United States it's hard to believe that with so many parts nothing was out of place but it just goes to show the skill set of laborers at the time certainly looks like no mr. Potatohead that's for sure number 13 Ellis Island was once a quarantine station looking at Ellis Island today it might be hard to believe that it was once a hustling bustling hive of activity especially since it's been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966 but believe it or not Ellis Island was once a quarantine station for millions of immigrants who arrived in New York Bay thousands of passports were once stamped in the Great Hall and many thousands of new arrivals were confined in the contagious disease hospital adjacent you may even be surprised to hear that Ellis Island also had a court room set up to determine the fate of those who wanted to call America home from 1885 until 1920 over 20 million immigrants arrived in America by ferry around 75 percent of them would end up on Ellis Island for processing doctors would assess the newcomers in various ways they would watch the manage the long flights of steps with their suitcases and even check the way they held themselves while walking if they stopped due to a shortage of breath or an ailment then there's a high chance they would be scrutinized intently during the health check muscular weakness posture heart and lung health and fungal infections were all considered for entry into the country even if you looked a little funny doctors were hesitant to offer that big green stamp on your passport but even after all these strict health checks which were sometimes barbaric less than 1% of immigrants were turned away today the halls of Ellis Island are far quieter and it's now home to a museum and the former inspection station for tours number 12 she wasn't always green to look at the Statue of Liberty you might be confused by the fact that it's made of copper you've surely seen copper and it's not blue or green as the Statue of Liberty is and no people haven't taken to her with a paintbrush either when France first gifted her she was shiny and made of enough copper to create over 435 million pennies but within around 30 years of her installation a color change started to happen she turned from that beautiful shiny copper color to a dull brown before ending up as a unique shade of blue and green while it was suggested that she be returned to her former glory the public protest saw her left house she was so how did she end up green when she was once the brilliant shine of a penny one word oxidization the first reaction was between copper and the air which is the process of an atom losing an electron to another atom the city airs pollution also played a part as did the water surrounding her in fact the sea spray is probably one of the more logical explanations for her vibrant green hue as the copper is now oxidized it's unlikely to undergo any further color changes and hasn't done so for the last century however if you were to put the Statue of Liberty anywhere else you could expect an entirely different color number 11 the French government didn't gift her when you learned that the Statue of Liberty is a gift from France you immediately think the government stuck its hands in its giant pockets and delivered the goods as it turns out it was the French people not the government after all little schoolchildren handed over their pocket money and hard-working French people offered up cash donations no matter how small to produce this monumental statue towns and cities throughout France all contributed thousands of francs but the government itself didn't think it right to contribute therefore if you happen to visit the Statue of Liberty don't think of it as a government-to-government gift think of it as a present from one group of people to another number 10 the Germans nearly blew up have you ever wondered why you can only climb as far as the crown on the Statue of Liberty it's evident that the torch is the highest point so why is this part no longer accessible to the public well you can blame the Germans in 1916 there was an explosion on black Tom Island in New York Harbor that caused around half a billion dollars of damage in today's money thousands of people were jolted from their restful slumbers and five people died among those who passed on were a policeman and a 10 week old infant who fell from his crib the number of deaths may have even been higher but the number of nearby barges to go up in flames made it impossible to count the losses with any accuracy debris was sprawled all over the area and windows smashed to the tune of millions of dollars the Statue of Liberty saw damage to her raised arm popped rivets which meant that from the time of the explosion until the end of time no one will ever be able to go into the arm or torch of Our Lady of Liberty again so why was the explosion so massive and what caused it the explosion happened before the United States entered World War one at that time they were manufacturing ammunition for use by the French British and Russians black Tom Island was a storage depot for weapons and explosive powders including 50 tons of TNT and about 250,000 detonators for years there was no proof that it was any more than an accident but post-war chatter changed all that a lawsuit was taken out against Germany that involved sabotage charges as it turned out pencil bombs were used by German spies who rode over in boats to cause millions of dollars of damage by 1939 American lawyers had confessions and German saboteur names eventually many businesses who took on damage were awarded fifty million dollars and those involved were brought to justice number nine she was supposed to be a lighthouse most people know that the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of America's freedom but did she know it was also an operational lighthouse just not a very good one President Grover Cleveland declared that she would become a lighthouse with the lighthouse board from 1886 lights were installed around her feet and in the torch and she would be illuminated brightly enough for ships and ferries in poor weather to sear when the Opening Day ceremony arrived thousands of people attended there was an electric light show and fireworks everyone was quite excited however the lighting was wired all wrong and a huge shadow was cast over this at you after ironing out a few kinks an electric manufacturing company installed an arc lighting system to get that angle just right but the woes weren't over the Statue of Liberty as a lighthouse was a logistical nightmare the lighthouse board was continually complaining about the costs of using her as a lighthouse even though ships could see her from around 24 miles away the cons outweighed the pros she was retired from navigational duties in 1902 and was given to the National Park Service as a tourist attraction by 1932 number a her original torch has been missing a long time the furthest part of the Statue of Liberty you can climb is up to the crown not being able to make it up to the torch is all thanks to an explosion on black Tom Island near the beginning of World War 1 however many people may not be aware that the original torch was replaced a gold-plated replica which is 400 pounds heavier than the old one stands in its place the original torch weighed 3,600 pounds and was made of copper when the massive explosion happened in 1916 it was dented and damaged beyond repair renovations of the Statue of Liberty took place in the 1980s and the torch was replaced in 1984 once it was removed it wasn't just put in some dusty old back shed and left to rot instead it went on a global tour before featuring in the 100 million dollar Statue of Liberty Museum where you can view it today number 7 Thomas Edison wanted to make her talk a giant statue can be frightening enough to look at for many people after all she stands hundreds of feet tall and is quite imposing and daunting but imagine if she talked you'd be having nightmares as would any child innocently walking past with their parents however Thomas Edison was determined that she would talk thankfully nothing ever came of his grand ideas Thomas Edison who developed electric power generation sound recording motion pictures and mass communication wanted to install a giant phonograph inside the Statue of Liberty he told the public as much in 1878 and even let the local papers in on his idea his goal was for people to hear speeches from the Statue of Liberty with a large enough size anyone as far away as the northern parts of Manhattan and across the bay would be able to hear them fortunately for everyone in the United States most people thought the idea was creepy and he was turned down number six a Muslim woman was her inspiration when you think about what the latest government led by President Donald Trump has done regarding immigration you might think that Muslim hate extends further than it should after all he suspended the entry of all refugees into the United States and banned entry from Muslim dominated countries for three months so it's ironic and a bit refreshing to know that the Statue of Liberty the statue that we look to for representation of freedom and tolerance is based on a Muslim woman French born sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was the man behind the design of the Statue of Liberty before he designed it he had traveled through Egypt and even submitted a design for a lighthouse to mark the completion of the Suez Canal his design was an eighty six foot tall woman dressed entirely in Arab garb he titled her Egypt carrying the light to Asia due to cost restraints his proposal was turned down or so the book called the Statue of Liberty a transatlantic story States but he didn't let it get him down and he wasn't about to let a good idea go to waste so he made a few minor changes and put all his focus into his native country france's gift to the United States the Statue of Liberty number five New York's ticker tape parades started with her ticker tape is a long roll of paper that was once used for financial information particularly on Wall Street in later years it became a staple in festivals and celebrations but did you know that it was the Statue of Liberty that started ticker tape parades the first ever recorded use of ticker tape for festive fun was in 1886 during the parade for the Statue of Liberty it was an exciting time and hundreds of people were gathering in New York City on a bitterly cold October day marching bands bell toons and naval and army brigades added a touch of energy to the occasion it was hard not to feel festive or excited and neighboring workers who went about their business were hanging out of their windows caught up in the moment some a little more than others for as some of the crowds dispersed down Wall Street workers unreeled spools of ticker tape to run down the building's like streamers this was the first time ticker tape was used in a celebratory fashion and the Statue of Liberty started a new trend number four the meaning behind her second long toe many people are in awe of the Statue of Liberty just because she is so large and imposing but if you were to view her in sections you would see she's quite detailed you may then notice that her second toe is longer than her first one if your second toe is also longer than your first then you're one of fewer than 25% of people with that unique feature so count yourself special but why was she made like that in a nutshell ancient artists and cultures considered having a second toe longer than the first as a sign of intelligence beauty and dominance it used to be known as the Greek toe because Greeks loved ratios they enjoyed perfect harmony in aesthetics rather than Egyptians who were about scale essentially if your second toe is longer than your first you are an aesthetic work of art so well done you after the Statue of Liberty was crafted however dr. Dudley Morton at the scene he blamed any feet issue on toes rather than weak arches which made people believe their toe anomalies were not so beautiful after all don't worry Lady Liberty we still think your toes are cute number three she was built to celebrate freed slaves not immigrants knowing that the Statue of Liberty is a slight variation from a woman dressed in Arab garb for the opening of the Suez Canal you might think the idea is to celebrate immigration while immigrants have been an integral part of America's history they are not the inspiration for our Lady of Liberty instead the abolition of slavery is how she came to exist which makes sense given that Ellis Islands immigration inspection station didn't open until six years after her veiling however the meaning never stuck nor was it explained at the pivotal moment it needed to be you may not even notice that the lady of Liberty has chains hanging loosely around her feet the man who came up with the idea of the statue ed who are de laboulaye was a firm believer in the abolition of slavery and he loved America he eventually became the president of a freed slaves committee to raise and distribute funds to them the Statue of Liberty came to him during a meeting with French abolitionists they wanted to give America a commemorative gift that epitomized the importance of slave liberation by the time it was reconstructed in New York - a military parade and fireworks the entire meaning had been lost ask your friends and family and you'll surely find they thought the Statue of Liberty was more about immigration than slavery abolition on the bright side you now know differently number 2 her crown closed after 9/11 for eight years America was in mourning after the September 11th 2001 attacks but in a time of grief officials started to take note of many monuments and tourist attractions that could pose potential risks the Statue of Liberty's crown was one of them it was deemed that the narrow stairwell with a handrail on one side would mean there was no quick exit in an emergency such as another terrorist attack therefore the crown component closed to the public and remained closed for eight years with an official reopening on us Independence Day which was quite fitting in 2009 a 25 million dollar grant was given for the Statue of Liberty and the immigration center on Ellis Island when the crown reopened ten people could occupy it at any one time and up to 30 in an hour during that initial phase 50,000 people would be allowed to visit in a year and a lottery would determine who those people would be as improvements were made double that would eventually be allowed to enter the crown number one she hasn't had a proper bath in 130 years imagine not taking a bath for over a century you wouldn't have any friends that's for sure but there's a reason no one has bothered to take a scrubbing rush to our Lady Liberty she would lose her green coloring the complex oxidization process of the copper means that if she were to be washed she would lose that green tinge and may never look the same again what's more that oxidization adds a layer of protection from air pollution salt and wind she would be vulnerable without it but even though she hasn't had a bath in nearly a century and a half that doesn't mean she's not well cared for a maintenance team is responsible for keeping her in tip-top shape which involves two dozen people taking care of wear and tear doors painted surfaces and elevators they also make sure that our HVAC and electrical systems are working and that drainage gates and plumbing are in tip-top shape after all when you have 4.5 million people visiting you every year you want to look your best as it turns out Our Lady of Liberty is not as straightforward as she seems did any of these surprise you can you think of any more fun facts about her also check out our other cool stuff showing up on screen right now see you next time [Music]

Channel: undefined

Views: 147,156

Rating: 4.7754774 out of 5

Keywords: statue of liberty, secret society, statue of liberty history, famous landmarks, new york city, statue of liberty moving, statue of liberty egypt, statue of liberty history video, darkest, darkest secrets, secrets of the statue of liberty!, statue, liberty, secrets, unexplained mysteries, new, viral, facts about america, usa facts, geography, traveling, our planet, earth, the statue of liberty, facts about the statue of liberty, history of the statue of liberty, statue of liberty face

Id: wwn1DDaVQVk

Length: 21min 7sec (1267 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 28 2020