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- Washington, D.C. is home to some of the country’s most famous buildings.
- Though the buildings receive thousands of visitors each year, some have little-known features inside and out.
- Moon rocks, secret crypts, and underground tunnels are the best-kept secrets in these popular tourist spots.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Washington, D.C. is home to the United States government and some of the country’s most famous historical landmarks.
From moon rocks to empty crypts situated inside these popular tourist spots, these monuments and government buildings still have some secrets.
See inside some lesser-known corners of Washington’s most famous buildings.
The Washington Monument is two colors by accident.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
During the monument’s construction in 1854, the Washington National Monument Society ran out of money. Construction was put on hold for 25 years, after which the federal government took the project over and completed it in 1884, but with marble from a different quarry.
Over time and weather, the two parts of the monument have become noticeably different colors, and a third type of marble in-between the main layers marks the delineation.
There’s a "whispering gallery" in the US Capitol.
Michael Freeman/Getty Images
Visitors to the Capitol’s Statuary Hall can experience the acoustical effect where something said at certain points yards away can be heard easily. These current points in the hall are different from those in the 19th century because the floor and ceiling of the hall have since been changed.
The National Cathedral holds a 3-billion-year-old piece of space.
Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The cathedral’s Space Window took inspiration from photographs taken during the Apollo 11 mission and is inscribed with a Bible verse that says: "Is not God in the height of Heaven?"
The moon rock at the center of the window measures just over two inches, has been estimated to be approximately 3.6 billion years old, and contains the previously unknown mineral pyroxferroite.
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins presented it to the cathedral in 1974 to mark the fifth anniversary of their mission to the moon.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Ellen Cranley)