01x04 - Washington, D.C.

[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 ♪

Inspector Gadget here
in Washington, D.C.,

a city that didn't
happen accidentally,

though parts of it
look that way.

The capitol
of the united states

was built to be
the showplace of the country.

Behind me, you see either the
world's largest telephone pole

or the Washington monument.

Choose one.

D.C. stands for
the District of Columbia.

It first got its name
from Christopher Columbus,

which sounds
a little like Columbia.

He was one
of the first europeans

to land on the shores
of the Americas,

even though he thought
he was in the East Indies.

But the people appointed

to plan the nation's
new capital

decided to
name it Washington

in honor of
president George Washington.

Then everybody started calling
the place Washington, D.C.

People would rather
visit Washington, D.C.,

than live here.

Each year,

to visit the more
than 600,000 people

who actually live here.

You can spot the tourists.

They're those 20 million
with the cameras.

This is where the big boss
of the u.s. lives.

The president is
the chief executive elected

to lead the 50 states.

The president lives
in this big White House.

Guess what they call it.

Hope some future president

doesn't want
to change the color.

The lavender house
wouldn't have

the same regal
quality to it,

but it would
still be located

at 1600 pennsylvania avenue.

The White House
was burned and damaged

during the w*r of 1812.

After its reconstruction
in 1817,

the walls were
repainted white

just like they are today.

This is the oldest
public building in Washington

and a really big home.

Only the first family
lives there,

even though there's room

for a second, third,
and fourth family.

The White House
has 132 rooms

including the green room,
the red room,

and the blue room.

The only president who never
lived in the White House

was George Washington.

He died on
december 14, 1799,

a year before
it was completed.

So we'll never know
what color room he wanted.

My keen detective sense
tells me we're back

at the Washington monument.

They must have gotten
a real deal

on white paint.

I guess this is where
Washington lived.

It's 897 steps
from top to bottom.

Hope he wasn't
into midnight snacks.

Wait a minute.

It says this monument
wasn't completed until 1884.

Washington couldn't
have lived here.

He was still dead.

Actually,
the Washington monument

was made to honor
the first president

and stands as the tallest
obelisk in the world.

As you may have guessed,

an obelisk is
a tall pointy structure.

This is the only skyscraper
in Washington,

because the city planners

didn't want anything
except the Washington monument

to be taller
than the capitol building.

Besides, they ran
out of stairs.

When they first put
the elevator in,

women and children
weren't allowed to ride it,

because it was
considered unsafe.

Now women and children

get to take
the same risk as men.

Luckily for all,
the elevator ride

is very safe.

So they tell me.

There are 50 flags surrounding
the Washington monument,

representing
the 50 united states.

On a windy day,
you can't hear yourself

for all the flag flapping.

The flags aren't
the only thing flapping.

The monument sways

in 35-mile-per-hour winds.

I, on the other hand,
sway 2 1/2 feet

in only 10-mile-per-hour winds.

Now to examine
another forefather,

thomas Jefferson,

one of the authors of
the declaration of independence.

Pleased to meet you,

mr. third president
of the united states.

I always heard you
were larger than life,

but this is ridiculous!

And now an Inspector Gadget
field trip fact.

The White House used
to be called

the president's house
or executive mansion,

but over the years,
newspaper reporters

nicknamed it
the White House.

Clearly newspapermen have

too much time
on their hands.

Then, in 1901,
president theodore roosevelt

officially changed the name
to the White House.

Welcome back
to waterworld--

uh, Washington, D.C.

They have all these
reflecting pools

to make the city
seem twice as big.

At least they make
the city twice as wet.

The supreme court
is a serious place

to reflect
on the laws of the land.

It consists of 9 justices
in long robes

who meet and decide

the nation's
most important cases.

It appears that court
is in session.

Those 2 brass doors
together weigh 15 tons.

Wowsers!

I wonder
if they are meant

to keep us out
or to them in.

Maybe they're just
to keep the wind

from whipping up
their gowns.

Many streets here are
named for letters

of the alphabet,
all 25 of them.

Hey, our alphabet
has 26 letters.

"J" is missing.

No one is quite sure why,
but legend has it

that Pierre L'enfant,

the French architect
who designed D.C.,

had a fight with John Jay,

the first chief justice
of the supreme court,

so he dropped "J" street.

After "I" street, it goes
straight to "K" street.

This is called
the Lincoln memorial.

What a coincidence!

I have a penny that looks
just like this.

So if you can't
go to Washington,

just have your picture
taken with a penny.

There's honest abe Lincoln,

the 16th president
of the united states.

He was born in a log cabin,
but he came a long way.

Just look at this place!

The Lincoln memorial
was built in 1922

and has 36 marble columns

representing the states
of the union

that Lincoln held together.

There are 56 steps leading
up to the Lincoln memorial.

Some say one was
for each year

Lincoln was alive.

Here we are
in arlington national cemetery,

the resting place
of those honored

for dying while in the service
of the united states.

We are witnessing the famous
changing of the guard

at the tomb
of the unknown soldier.

Time to relax
and enjoy the scenery

around the tidal basin,

like a lot
of paddle boats.

While everything
in Washington

can be thought of
as a national treasure,

I'm in search
of some real treasure,

like cash!

My uncle moneybags Gadget
made a pile of cash.

Then they took away
his photocopy machine.

This is the bureau
of engraving and printing.

That's a fancy name
for a money-making place.

They print up money,
and it's even legal,

as long as it's tender.

It's where the paper money
is printed.

Only, it's not paper.
It's cloth which is made up

of 75% cotton
and 25% linen.

It's supposed to make
our money last longer,

as long as
you don't spend it.

Would you believe
they transform

these blank sheets
into millions of dollars?

The bureau of engraving
and printing

prints $66 billion a year.

I've got a great idea.

Let's put them
on night shifts.

Then they can pay off
my parking tickets

from my last field trip.

On average, dollar bills
need to be replaced

every 22 months
because they get worn out

being passed from
one person to the next,

even faster if you
leave them in your laundry.

Though if you press and fold
the bills immediately,

they fit better
in your wallet.

A $100 bill usually lasts
about 9 years.

Guess people
don't drop them

in the washer
quite as often.

Time for an Inspector Gadget
field trip fact.

Every year, the bureau of
engraving and printing uses...

Stay tuned!

There's lots more exciting
field trip action

coming up ahead!

We're back!

And, boy,
are my Gadgets tired.

Aha! A library,

but not just any library.

This is the library of
congress. The staff

handles over 600,000 requests
from congress each year.

But before you
feel left out,

the public gets to use
the library, too.

And this is some place!

All books, sheet music,
and film scripts

copyrighted in the u.s.

Go through
the library of congress,

which means they've got
a copy of everything

but your shoe size.

Their collection grows
by 10 items a minute.

If it gets any bigger,
it can apply for statehood.

Would you believe
this library's so big

it needs a conveyor belt
to move the books around?

Would you believe
a dumbwaiter

and 3 pushcarts?

How about an old geezer
with a shopping bag?

The library contains
over 100 million items,

not including the free books
I forgot to return.

You can see a rough draft

of the declaration
of independence

and the gutenberg bible,

which is the first book
printed with movable type.

But they don't have a copy
of my autobiography.

Guess I
have to write it first.

If you laid the shelves
of the library end to end,

they would stretch
all the way

from Washington, D.C.,
to detroit,

making the longest and
best-educated boardwalk

in the world.

But then the books would be
piled all over the floor.

And if you spent one minute
looking at each item

in the library of congress

for 8 hours a day,

it would take you
about 825 years

to see everything,

and you wouldn't finish
one of the books.

Not to mention
that you'd be really old!

Look at those two.
They must be running away

from their overdue
library fees.

Oh, they're joggers,

and that's the mall.

But you can't shop here.

It's the grassy area between

all the smithsonian museums,
the Washington monument,

and the capitol building.

Speaking of
the capitol building,

this is it.

It's one of the most
important buildings

in Washington
and the nation.

It's where congress
has met since 1800.

By now, they must know
each other very well.

Inside, you can see
the immense rotunda

decorated with
a painted mural.

It has a great echo effect

which makes speeches
sound important.

The capitol rotunda
has housed the coffins

of several american heroes

before they were
buried underground.

were presidents:

abraham Lincoln,
james garfield,

william mckinley,
and john f. kennedy.

[whispering]
this is the statuary hall,

and I'm whispering
because it's also known

as the whispering hall.

Shh.

I'll talk normally
again soon,

so you don't have
to adjust your set.

See those red curtains?

They hung them
to muffle the sound.

It's rumored
that a long time ago

when congress used
to meet in this room,

john quincy adams
positioned his desk

so that he could hear
congressmen whispering

on the other side
of the room.

He didn't even
have Gadget ears!

Nobody could figure out
how he knew

what the other side
was going to do

before they did it.

This is either
the senate subway

or Washington D.C.'s idea

of an amusement park
water ride,

hold the water.

Actually, it's a subway

that goes under
the capitol building.

Anyone can ride the subway,

but you've got
to give up your seat

if a member of congress
needs to ride.

Whenever the house
or senate is in session,

a flag flies
over that chamber

of the capitol building.

No one knows quite why.
It just does.

At night, a 20-foot lantern
on the roof is also lit

when either house
of congress is in session.

In other words, congress can,
and often does,

labor in this building

day and night,
week after week,

month after month.

Right now they are
probably facing

unbelievable challenges,
heated debates,

and savage public
condemnation

and...loving it.

Did you know that lightning
really does strike twice?

In fact, a statue
called freedom

at the top of the capitol
has been struck by lightning

so many times that it wears
its own lightning rods.

I was only hit
by lightning once,

and it was plenty for me.

[thunder]
yeowch!

Make that twice.

Welcome back
to Washington, D.C.

Let's go
to my old stomping ground.

Just like my Gadgets

it has unlimited firepower,
the latest in weaponry,

and also a rogues gallery

of the most wanted criminals
in recent history.

Fbi stands for the federal
bureau of investigation.

I always thought it stood

for a foolish
bumbling Inspector.

As part of our
department of justice,

the FBI investigates
violations of federal laws,

so bad guys beware!

Tours include
some of the worst bad guys,

a collection of g*ns,
and a portion

of a laboratory.

If you're lucky,
maybe they'll let you pose

for their mug shot camera.

As one of the most powerful

law-enforcement agencies
in the world,

the FBI has more
than 10,000 special agents.

The agency was
started in 1908

and maintains the world's
largest fingerprint files.

That's either the world's
biggest hood ornament,

or we're looking
at the Pentagon.

It houses
the department of defense.

The department of offense
is somewhere else.

The department of defense
is managed by

the secretary of defense.

He's such a big cheese
that his office

is in one of the world's
largest mouse mazes:

the Pentagon.

It's called that
because it has 5 sides.

Would you believe his
office building is so big

he has to take a Sherman
tank to the rest rooms?

The Pentagon has 3 times
the floor space

of the empire state building,
though the view

from the Pentagon roof
isn't nearly as spectacular.

It was completed in 1943,

and some
of the construction workers

are still trying to find
their way out.

Time for an Inspector Gadget
field trip fact.

The Pentagon has
about 23,000 employees

occupying over

with corridors extending
for 17 1/2 miles.

Wowsers!

There are...

And not one vending machine

that gives a decent
egg salad sandwich.

There's another field trip
right around the corner.

Or was it that corner?

Or...that corner?

It was great visiting
the White House,

Washington monument,

FBI,
Jefferson memorial,

and Lincoln memorial.

Truly a memorable experience.

Until next time,

go, go, Gadget field trip!