The only National Monument ever to go missing for nearly 50 years then resurface in a dump.

When it comes to handsignals (and colonialism) rock always beats scissors.

The preamble to the U.S. Constitution written entirely from vanity license plates hangs in the Smithsonian museum.

For 60 years, the academy had no permanent location until members voted Washington D.C. as its forever home.

This forgotten boat elevator was an engineering marvel in its heyday.

A heroic pigeon that, through a barrage of gunfire, delivered a message that saved over 100 lives in World War I.

Before Nixon, "watergate" meant canals.

Architecture lovers won’t stop touching the National Gallery's 19.5 degree marble prow.

A diminutive plaque recalls the treetop sniper who almost killed Abe Lincoln.

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

The discovery site of the "Capitalsaurus," the official dinosaur of Washington, D.C.

Go take a picture with the inventor of the daguerreotype photographic process.

Senators used to relax in the nearly forgotten marble tubs now hidden in the U.S. Capitol Building's basement.

An unassuming, powerful monument north of the U.S. Capitol bears witness to the resilience of Japanese Americans during a time of grave injustice.

Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”

Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.

The "lovely red Vega" of the legendary record-settling pilot.

The remains of Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, serve as a tool to educate about conservation.

In the basement of the U.S. Capitol Building is a hidden storage room full of ornate floor tiles leftover from the 1850s.

Where the U.S. government kept its actual treasure, before Fort Knox.

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

The institution is sitting on a goldmine of 21,000 paints, varnishes, pigments, and primers preserved for posterity.

Those with a sharp eye can find the hidden image of a German Shepherd on the memorial's Mural Wall.

An easily overlooked memorial to a Ukrainian famine-genocide that killed over 4 million people.