01x14 - Rome

[bunniefuu]

[siren]

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

♪ We're going on a visit ♪

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

♪ Come on,
let's go with him ♪

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

♪ What's that, you ask?
What is it? ♪

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

♪ Well, no one
wants to miss it ♪

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

♪ We're going on a visit ♪

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

♪ Have fun,
let's go with him ♪

♪ New places,
new faces ♪

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

♪ Inspector Gadget's
field trip ♪

Gadget:
Inspector Gadget here,

on our way to danger,
high intrigue, and Rome--

one of the oldest cities
in the world...

Though it doesn't have
gray hair

or walk with a cane.

Go, go, Gadgetmobile!

Here we are in Rome,
the capital of italy.

Actually, italy
is always capital

because it's a proper name.

If it weren't for the Romans,
I couldn't have driven here

because the Romans built
some of the first paved roads.

They had to.

They didn't have

though they did have steel
belted radial horseshoes.

They invented
other stuff, too.

Uh, the Romans,
not the oxen.

So let's investigate.

Go, go, Gadget field trip!

This place is huge...

But it used to be huger.

Uh...i mean bigger.

The Roman empire
used to stretch

all the way from
what is now England

to the tip of Africa.

If it stretched any further,
it would have snapped.

That's italy right there.

The one in the middle
of europe,

shaped like a boot.

Now, 1,800 years later,
Rome has shrunk down

to be a city this big.

Wowzers!

The Romans built lots
of sporting arenas.

Of course, hand-to-hand combat
with a lion

isn't considered
a sport anymore,

much to the lion's dismay.

But they were used
for other sports, too.

Let's investigate
the most famous arena...

The Colosseum.

I know it's around here
somewhere.

Aha!

This is the Colosseum--

a Roman ruin.

A ruin is
what's left standing

after a famous building
collapses.

Actually, it's
what's left standing

after a not-so-famous
building collapses, too.

But those aren't too popular
with the tourists.

If this is what's left,

the Colosseum
must have been huge.

The Colosseum
didn't always look

like a lot
of rocks and rubble.

It was all put together
completely round

with 4 stories of seats

for people to watch
the action,

or just sit and gab
if there was no game that day.

It looked more like this.

The floor of the arena
was made up of boards

and then covered with sand.

In fact, the old Roman
term for sand

is arena.

Sound familiar?

That is where we get
the term arena today,

as in, "let's go watch
the football game

at the sand--uh...arena."

Under all that sand

there was a complicated
system of mazes and cages,

where the animals
waiting to do battle

were kept.

You can still
see the maze today.

Sort of like the bullpen
in baseball,

but with lions.

Specially-trained sl*ves
called gladiators

fought exotic beasts
from all over the world,

like hippopotami
and panthers,

and that was considered
a good job for a sl*ve.

This is what Rome
is like today...

But if you use
your imagination,

you can see the city
the way it was

almost 2,000 years ago.

Would you believe
circus maximus means

big circle?

Would you believe
a 3-ring circus?

How about 2 clowns
juggling pizzas?

Actually, circus maximus
does mean a big circle,

and it was used as a track
for chariot races.

It was Rome's answer
to the indy 500,

with horses
instead of race cars,

and Romans in plumed helmets

instead of racers
in crash helmets.

Chariot races weren't
quite as fast,

but they used
a lot less gasoline.

This place could hold almost...

Before the floor fell in.

Wowzers!

That's a lot of pepperoni
and pasta on a stick!

Here's an Inspector Gadget
field trip fact.

Some of the chariot racers,

or charioteers,
as they were called,

even became famous.

A charioteer named dioclese
retired a millionaire,

and that's without
doing commercials

for chariot racing sandals.

Inspector Gadget here,

back in the middle
of Rome, italy.

Wowzers!

Why are all these people
putting their hands

inside a monster's mouth?

That's either a strange
Roman manicure

or a very scenic
atm machine.

Actually they're tourists

legend has it that if
a visitor puts his hand

inside the monster's mouth
and tells a lie,

the monster will chomp down,

which is not very friendly.

Maybe he just
nibbles your nails

for a little white lie,

or tickles your toenails
for a fib.

In fact, the monster's
appetite for liars

is where the statue
gets its name.

The Romans called it...

Which is old Roman
for mouth of truth.

And that's no lie. honest.

Rome is full of surprises,
like this building.

Its door is shaped like the
mouth of another monster

ready to eat all
incoming visitors,

and the windows look
like smaller monsters

watching as you enter.

Wouldn't it have been easier
to put up

a "no trespassing" sign?

Let's take a trip on
the oldest road in Rome.

It's so old the road signs
have wrinkles.

The name of this road is...

It's also called
the queen of roads.

Wonder where the king is.

Actually, her majesty
the road

is probably one
of the oldest roads

in the world.

The Appian Way
was the central road

to which all other roads
were connected.

If all roads lead to Rome,

this is the road
they led to.

The problem
that faced the Romans

was how to get around
such a wide area.

All these
different provinces

were connected by
a huge system of roads.

As new roads were added,

it became more
and more complex,

which led to
another Roman invention--

the traffic jam.

Let's get a horse's-eye
view of the city.

Look out for the world's
oldest potholes!

Ouch!

The Romans developed a system
of underground tunnels and

pipes that moved
water all over Rome,

feeding many of Rome's
famous water fountains.

They were among the first to
have running water in the city.

Sometimes
it wasn't possible

to install underground
tunnels or pipes.

The Romans
solved that problem

with an invention called...

Though they didn't
have feathers

and hardly ever quacked.

An aqueduct is
an above-ground waterway.

Any Roman mistaking these
for roads

was in for an early
Roman water slide.

Go, go, Gadget swim fins!

Yaaaaah!

Huge arches were built
with channels on top

that carried water
all over the city.

What did the Romans do
with all that water?

Maybe they should
have started

the first
bottled water company.

If you were
a rich person, or patrician,

in the days of
the Roman empire,

you would have enjoyed a warm

bath, having the water
piped or aqueducted

straight into your house
to your own private bath.

Bubbles were optional.

Those are either
leaky aqueducts

or very public baths.

Actually, those are
public fountains,

so the not-so-rich could
have access to water.

The water was sent to
hundreds of fountains

around the city,

both for decoration
and for public drinking water.

A lot of these fountains
are still in use today,

from the beautifully-sculpted
fountains

of Rome's courtyards
and squares

to simple streams of water
for drinking and washing.

These non-stop taps
are called...

I guess it's ok that
these noses are running.

This fancy fountain
is called the...

People come
from around the world

to throw coins
into this fountain

for good luck.

Legend has it that
if you throw in a coin,

one day you'll return
to the fountain.

Probably to get
your coin back.

Here's another Inspector
Gadget field trip fact:

water, water everywhere,

but not a bar of soap
to be found.

Instead of soap, Romans
would clean themselves

with oil,

which was then
scraped off

with a device called a...

It was the Romans
who found out

oil and water definitely
do not mix.

Would you believe
we're on our way

to more Roman adventures?

Would you believe
a quick toga tour?

How 'bout a pizza party?

The people of Rome
have something

most other major cities
don't have...

A lot of Romans.

They also have

which makes getting
directions a little iffy.

Let's find out why.

Go, go, Gadgetmobile!

This is the old downtown
of the old city of Rome.

The Romans don't
call it downtown.

They call it the...

Which is Roman for mall.

People would
come here to shop,

gossip, even to hear
some slippery politicians

speak from the rostra,
or podium,

that was a permanent part
of the forum.

Fortunately, the invention
of the bullhorn

was a few thousand years off.

Here's Rome's
other downtown.

This is where
today's Romans hang out,

especially the shoppers.

Most of these buildings
are still standing,

and the politicians
aren't as slippery

since they invented soap.

One of the most
hidden secrets in Rome

is their graveyard.

How can you hide
a graveyard?

Simple--
put it underground.

Ancient Rome had
a very strange law.

Not the one about no bathing
your pigs in the aqueduct.

This one said burials
were not allowed

within the city.

So Romans built a place
just outside the city limits

for burial sites.

It's called the...

Sure is dark in here.

This is an underground
honeycomb of tombs

where christians
buried their dead.

Inside these tombs are
early popes and martyrs--

some of Rome's most
important christian citizens.

There are also
beautiful statues

inside the catacombs.

But where are the cats?

It's nice to be back
among the living.

It's back on the Appian Way
with the old Inspector.

[crash]
oof!

Darn that pothole!

[beep beep]

Rome has a lot
of secrets,

and one of its best-kept
secrets for a long time

was a secret country

completely hidden
inside a city.

I find that
hard to believe.

Let's investigate.

Behind these huge walls

is a completely
separate country

that's not part of Rome
or even italy.

This is the only
country in the world to

be hidden inside the capital
city of another country.

In fact, Vatican city
is also

the smallest country
in the world,

which explains
how they could fit it

in a city.

The entire walled country
is only 1/2

of one square mile.

Time for an Inspector Gadget
field trip quiz.

Who is this man?

We'll be right back
with the answer

and a few more surprises.

Welcome back
to Inspector Gadget's

Roman field trip.

Now, back to our quiz.

Who is this man?

The answer is all 3!

I told you Rome was
full of secrets.

Ok, it's not the riddle
of the sphinx,

but it's something.

This is...

This guy wears
a lot of hats,

including a swell beanie.

Like the leader
of any country,

the pope has
his own guards.

But these are no ordinary
bodyguards.

For one thing, they don't
hire out on weekends

to protect rock stars.

They're from switzerland
and they're called...

There are special
requirements

for becoming a Swiss guard.

You must be...

You must be...

You must be...

And you must be able
to yodel in 7 languages.

Just kidding
about the yodeling.

If you meet
all of these criteria,

you not only guard
the head of Vatican city,

but you also learn judo,
karate, and wear snappy tights.

The uniforms worn
by the Swiss guards

are very special.

They were reportedly
designed

by the world-famous
artist...

But this was not Michelangelo's
only contribution

to Vatican city.

Michelangelo also designed
the dome of...

St. peter's church
is the largest church

in the world.

Compared to the country
it's in,

st. peter's is so big

that the equivalent
in the united states

would be a church
the size of pennsylvania.

After designing the dome,

the pope told Michelangelo
to take a rest,

so he did.

He lay on his back
for 4 years

and painted the ceiling.

The ceiling
in the Sistine Chapel

is the most famous ceiling
in the world.

Michelangelo had to climb
rickety scaffolding,

and he painted
lying on his back,

looking straight up.

I guess he got used
to paint drops in his mouth.

After painting the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel,

Michelangelo was
so used to working

at that bizarre angle

that he had to
hold letters and papers

above his head,
and look up to read them.

Vatican city has
its own money

and its own bank.

Wowzers!

It's like this place
is a country.

Wait a minute...
It is a country.

That's why it has
its own flag,

its own post office,

and even its own museum.

It also has its own
radio station.

In fact, more people work
at the Vatican radio station

than live in Vatican city.

The radio station broadcasts
the addresses of the pope

around the world
in over 30 languages,

including italian,
english, and japanese.

The Vatican also has
its own fire department,

and even a train station.

Wowzers! This place
has everything.

If they get any bigger,

they'll have to build
underground.

Time to hop back
on the Appian Way

and head for
our next adventure.

[crash]
oof!

Will somebody please
fix that pothole?!

We've uncovered a lot of
secrets here in Rome.

We've seen where
ancient gladiators gladiated...

Taken the early Roman
lie detector test...

Borrowed 3 coins
from a fountain...

And marched
with the Swiss guards

at the Vatican.

All in one city.

Arrivederci, Roma.

Until next time,

go, go, Gadget
field trip!