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44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World

*Zelda ‘found a thing’ noise!*

44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World

October 06, 2023

You know that feeling when you recognize an Easter egg or find a secret area in a video game? Or when you’re watching a movie trailer or an early season of a TV show and you catch a glimpse of an item or costume design that hints at a future character or plot development? “Eureka!” you shout at your screen, sublimely blissful in your supreme ability to notice things. What a satisfying feeling. You thought things were one way, but actually, they’re a different, cooler way. How fun!

Well, turns out, you can have that experience in the real world, too. That’s right, hidden gems are lurking around the corner everywhere you go. And we mean everywhere. We’ve got 44 examples, for goodness sakes. Little architectural embellishments, abandoned islands at theme parks, secret passageways — the insanity here is endless.

Get a look at these weird places and secret meanings hidden in plain sight…

44

There are three tiny flagpoles on the Capitol They're used for the Capitol Flag Program, through which you can buy flags flown over the Capitol. The flags fly on one of these flagpoles, not the real flagpole, for all of 30 seconds before they're packed and shipped. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

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has The clock tower Harry Potter flew over has a fancy apartment. Inside the St. Pancras clock tower, there's an apartment with ridiculously high ceilings and two bedrooms. Unfortunately since it's literally on top of a train station, neither bedroom can give you a good night's sleep. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

42

The highest floor of the Empire State Building is reserved for a chosen few. The 103rd floor, which is so secret it's usually not listed, is only open to the rich and/or famous. It's a small observatory with 360-degree views. Almost no sounds reach it, so there's near-total silence. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

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It's pretty gunked up down there.

Disney World is hiding an abandoned island. Disney used it as a wildlife observatory, but shut it down in 1999 when they opened Animal Kingdom and moved all the animals there. Today, it's an overgrown jungle of empty animal cages, ruled by vultures (the actual kind, not the cartoon Disney kind). CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

40

Underground tunnels criss-cross Los Angeles. They connect downtown LA's government buildings, and they're used for moving files securely. But they've also had other uses. For example, in the '50s and '60s, criminals were moved from jail to court through them. In 1960, a billion dollars of tax money were moved through them. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

39

There's a subway station under Grand Central Station. It led directly into the Waldorf-Astorial hotel, so the well-to-do wouldn't have to mingle with the masses. It was used from the '30s to the '60s, when it was abandoned (except for a 1965 party by Andy Warhol), and it was eventually totally closed off. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

38

There's a creepy secret chamber inside Mt. Rushmore. Its sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, wanted Mt. Rushmore to have a Hall of Records, where historic American documents would be stored. When he died in 1941, it was unfinished. In 1998, the government put a sealed titanium vault with copies of important documents in there. So he kinda got his wish. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

37

A (uxury apartment sits at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Gustave Eiffel had it built for himself when the tower went up, and kept it secret for a long time. He'd get offered crazy sums for a night in it, but always said no. It didn't open to the public until 2015, 90 years after he died. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

36

Lake Erie lies above a massive salt mine. The mine is a three-mile-long complex that's so deep underground, fresh air has to be pumped in and miners have to carry an hour's worth of backup oxygen. Many of its sprawling tunnels are unexplored (and might BE home to horrors that should not BE awakened). CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

35

The Washington Monument has a tiny, hidden twin. A 12-foot replica of the Monument is buried right next to it. It was built in the 1880s as a surveyor's tool they'd use its scale to verify readings. The ground level rose over time, and the Mini Monument was encased in a tube, buried, and forgotten. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

34

A mini-scale rail network is laid under London. The London Post Office Railway is an adorable miniature underground tunnel system which, once upon a time, used automated trains to deliver mail around London. Today you can take a ride on the Mail Rail, and (presumably) glimpse the terrifying mole-men living in the tunnels. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

33

The Leaning Tower of Pisa contains an empty tube. The Tower of Pisa is actually a bell tower for the nearby cathedral, and there's literally nothing inside it. Aside from the ginormous bell, of course. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

32

Radio City Music Hall has a swanky apartment. Radio City built it for its first impresario, Samuel Roxy Rothafel, who had brought in a ton of top-shelf acts. It became his bachelor pad and party venue. And today, it could be YOURS - it's been kept in top shape, and is up for rent. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Under the Lincoln Memorial, there's a cavern with dirty graffiti. The Memorial is kept up by support beams, which are in a Moria-esque underground hall. And the construction workers must have been really bored, because they left it full of graffiti that's a mix of porn doodles and dirty words. One just says boobies. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Google

Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

24

People literally used to live in New York's public libraries. Back in the day, janitors had to keep books warm and dry with coal furnaces, which needed to be fueled with coal 24/7. So libraries had special apartments for janitors. Those apartments are abandoned today, since there's no money to renovate them CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

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44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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The Supreme Court also has a basketball court. Storage space above the courtroom was turned into a gym with a basketball court in the 1940s. John Roberts used to play basketball with William Rehnquist there, and Sandra Day O'Connor organized yoga classes in the gym every day. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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The U.S. CYBER COMMAND cyber STATES Command a emblem contains X a hidden code. When cracked, the 32 character string translates into the unit's (lengthy) mission statement: D USCYBERCOM plans, coordinates, integrates, synchronizes and conducts activities to... ensure US/Allied freedom ofaction in cyberspace and deny the same to our adversaries. CRACKED.COM .COM — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Many cathedrals have a cruciform plan; that is, if CRAOM you SEE them from above (as God would), they look like a cross. Washington National Chartres Cathedral, Cathedral, USA France Peterborough Amiens Cathedral, Cathedral, UK France — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

12

The gold and blue swishes around Dairy Queen's symmetrical ellipse IZZARD 00 represents the food it serves. DQ The gold signifies the hot foods and the blue signifies the soft-serve treats. CRACKED.COM — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

9

The 1978 Halloween poster features a hidden screaming face. HALLOWEEN The Night He Came Home! CRACKED.COM — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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NOT 2018 HAPPY NEW TOSHIBA @TOK A major building in Times Square is empty. It's the building where they drop the New Year's Ball - One Times Square. There's one tenant: a Walgreens on the ground floor. The building has been used as a gigantic, vacant advertising stand since 1992. It makes $23 million a year. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Unknown Secrets In Well-Known Landmarks

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44 Secret Areas and Easter Eggs Hiding in the Real World — Source: 27 Real-World Easter Eggs Under Our Noses

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