As many of you may know I’m a history buff, I don't know what it is but I just love being
around ancient architectures and historical places.
And I think somehow, in one form or another, we are all attracted to the myths, stories,
legends or the artifacts that has filled museums and private collections from around the world so I guess that's why
people always feel the need to touch or take selfies with these oftentime priceless and
irreplacable structures or artifacts with sometimes disastrous results; so in today’s
video, we are counting down the 10 people who completely ruined history for the rest
of us.
Number Ten: Those Meddlin’ Kids Kids in museums...either they are super interested
or just bored and runnign around trying to touch things.
and in The British Museum’s egyptian exhibit, this is especially so.
This is where children have been known to grope the breasts of 3500-year-old statues
of ancient queens, climb artifacts, and turn priceless sarcophagi into trash bins.
Even adults have been discovered to mistreat the museum’s valuable collections which
is why these treasures have now been placed inside glass casings, safe from vandals and
overly enthusiastic children.
Number Nine: A Colossal Blunder Every year, thousands of tourists walk the
narrow paths and climbed the concrete stairs of the Roman Colosseum.
And why not?
It is one of the world’s most revered architectural wonders despite its bloody and violent past.
To this day, the Colosseum stands as a testament to man’s achievements in engineering and
architecture.
While it is no surprise that the walls of the colosseum have had its share of graffiti
carved and inscribed upon its walls by Roman soldiers, Gladiators, and prisoners since
the First Century AD, the practice has since been banned by the Italian tourism and law
enforcement officials.
These efforts, however, could not deter tourists from picking up fragments of rock from the
site and inscribing their initials on it or, worse, carving or writing graffiti directly
on the walls itself: a blunder that can cost a tourist at least a $20,000 fine.
Number Eight: Lend Me an Ear The Easter Island Moai Heads are wonders to
behold.
Like the Stonehenge, it stumps many historians and engineers about how it was constructed
and put up.
As one of the wonders of the world, it is also a declared UNESCO World Heritage Site,
protected by laws that aim to preserve the history and culture it represents.
Unfortunately, like other monolithic wonders, the Easter Island heads are not immune to
the curious and clueless tourist who just wants a piece of history.
This was the case with an unnamed Finnish tourist.
The report goes that the tourist seemed to have casually walked up one of the 13-foot-tall
statues and managed to chisel off an earlobe to take home as a souvenir.
Immediately, police arrested the tourist and slapped him an $18,000 fine for vandalizing
the site.
Number Seven: All Hail The Kingslayer Portugal is one of those countries that is
flooded with history.
From its grand boulevards to its side streets, the country is teeming with history shown
through magnificent architecture.
One such wonder is found in the Rossio railway station.
It many ornate alcoves house sculptures and one of them is of the 16th Century King, Dom
Sebastiao.
His was a statue that stood regally until one tourist decided that the best way to honor
the king was with a selfie.
Believing that his idea was quite novel, the unnamed tourist made the decision to climb
the statue for his photo.
Unfortunately for the King, the weight of this badly made decision made him topple from
his alcove to the floor where he broke into pieces.
Sadly, all of his horses and all of his men could never put him back together again.
Number Six: Full Moon Rising It should be an understood and unwritten rule
that getting naked in places such as museums and ancient historical sites is completely
frowned upon.
To have it printed as a warning and reminder on signposts and information cards is quite
another story.
This need arose after an incident at the sacred temples of Machu Picchu in Peru.
Known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the temples at Machu Picchu is a place that
seems to be frozen in time.
Amidst a backdrop of sloping mountains and clear skies, the temples – to this day – hold
a significant amount of importance to Peruvian history and culture.
Unfortunately for the temples though, they have seen more than one kind of moon rising.
Over confident tourists are known to have their photos of their backside taken using
the temples as the backdrop.
Even more disturbing is the number of tourists who streak on the grounds of the temples which
Peruvians consider as sacred ground.
Just in 2016, three tourists were detained and fined by Peruvian authorities for desecrating
the ancient site with their nudity.
A British tourist, Adam Burton, was arrested by local law enforcement together with a Frenchman.
It was reported that they were stopped by police while naked at the site.
They were then quickly prosecuted for offenses against morality and heavily fined.
Number Five: A Problematic Pinky Promise Museums place cards that say “DO NOT TOUCH”
for a reason.
Artifacts and statues that are over thousands of years old have a tendency to be brittle
and could break at the slightest touch of unskilled hands.
Tragically, this was what happened to a 600-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary.
A 55-year-old man was taken into custody by museum officials and law enforcement after
he decided to measure his hand up against the statue’s sculpted palm.
In his enthusiasm, a finger broke off the statue’s hand and landed him in hot water.
Fortunately for him, the man, who was later identified as Patrick Broderick, an American
tourist, was not fined for the damage nor was he charged for any misdemeanour.
However, there is no irony lost to this event as Broderick is a surgeon by profession.
With such skilled and steady hands, you would think that he could be much gentler.
Also, it was known that the piece that Broderick accidentally broke off was already a replica
meaning that the original digit may have already broken off long before this particular incident
happened.
Number Four: The Fall of Mighty Hercules The quest for the perfect selfie is perhaps
this generation’s Holy Grail.
From photos high above the tallest mountains or images from the deepest corners of the
sea, there seems to be a silent competition that we are all unwittingly a part of.
Taking home great photos as souvenirs from a trip is a harmless activity, much so are
taking selfies next to iconic places or historical artifacts.
There is a kind of novelty to it that does appeal to the nostalgic in us.
Sometimes though, some people can push the boundaries of the creative selfie a little
too far.
In 2015, two people were identified by local authorities in Cremona, Italy after the “Statue
of the Two Hercules”, a 300-year-old sculpture, was smashed to pieces after an attempt at
taking a perfect selfie by the two unnamed perpetrators.
There is no clear and detailed report about the incident and how it unfolded.
However, it was one of the many incidents that forced museums to ban the infamous selfie-sticks
within their premises.
Number Three: A Close Shave It’s quite embarrassing to be a tourist
caught in a situation where a priceless piece of history has been damaged by you.
One can only imagine what could be going inside that person’s head after seeing a thousand
year old statue smashed to smithereens.
However, what’s even more embarrassing is to be one of those people expected to take
care of these artifacts and end up doing the disastrous opposite.
This story comes in two parts and involves one of the world’s most precious finds.
Museum workers at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, in one of their routine cleaning of the museum’s
collections, the 3300-year-old funerary mask of King Tutankhamun found itself suddenly
relieved of its jewel-studded beard.
Whether it was accidentally broken off or removed due being loose, is a matter of conjecture
among museum officials.
In order to save the mask, museum employees began working on restoring the mask.
Unfortunately for King Tut, the restoration was done hastily and the beard was reattached
using a common household epoxy.
The glue left a yellow stain around the area where it broke off when it dried and there
were noticeable scratches in the beard where workers used a spatula to scrape off epoxy
that dripped onto the sculpture.
To pour more salt to the wounded King, the display was quietly placed back in the exhibit
after the debacle, with lights slightly dimmed to hide the terrifying attempt at repairing
the mask.
Number Two: The Good Samaritan Good intentions can sometimes end up with
terrible results and 80-year-old Cecilia Gimenez from Spain knows this to be frightfully true
when she took it upon herself to restore a centuries old painting called “Ecce Homo”
(Behold the Man) by painter Elias Garcia Martinez.
The painting of the face of Christ by Garcia Martinez has held a special place in the hearts
of the locals of Zaragoza, Spain as well as its Catholic community.
Garcia Martinez’s delicate brush strokes and use of color perfectly captures the passion
of Christ on canvas.
Unfortunately, the ravages of time eventually caught up with the precious painting and caused
it to drastically deteriorate.
Fueled by her passion and good intentions, Cecilia Gimenez, claiming to have the permission
of a priest, took it upon herself to restore the fresco.
Sadly, it was a little too late when Gimenez realized that something went terribly wrong
and immediately contacted the city’s councillor in charge of Cultural Affairs.
Christian Fraser, a BBC Europe Correspondent who has seen the aftermath of the botched
restoration described that “The once dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of
a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic.”
Although the painting is not thought to be as valuable as a Renaissance work, it carries
such a high sentimental value among the locals of Zaragoza.
Number One: The Vandals of History One of the darkest periods of human history
was the Second World War, particularly the Holocaust.
Sweeping through Europe and leaving death and destruction in their wake, Hitler and
the Nazi government have slain 8 million Jews across Europe, executing them mercilessly
or sending them to suffer and die in concentration camps.
One such camp is the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland where trains upon trains of innocent
Jews and supposed enemies of the Nazi regime entered and never left.
Today, the camp stands preserved as a testament to that dark period in the 20th century; a
harsh reminder of the cruelties that were laid down on millions of innocent people.
You could assume that a place such as Auschwitz can tame even the most daring of tourists
but not even the dreaded camp can do so.
In July 2016, two Portuguese students were arrested by Polish officials after discovering
that they have damaged the Birkenau gate of the notorious death camp by writing inscribing
their names on it: one in marker, the other carved in by a piece of stone.
Under Polish law, any damage done to any part of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial is a crime
punishable by a prison sentence and heavy fines.
It is quite understandable that the Polish government would impose such penalties considering
the history behind the site.
The students were given suspended prison sentences for vandalizing the site.
Although they have expressed their regret and made a formal apology, their lawyer expressed
his plans to appeal the issued sentences because he believes that they did not damage the gate.