The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
HowStuffWorks clears a trail for world explorers and armchair travelers alike.
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Announcer
Welcome to The Coolest Stuff on the Planet.
Matthew
Hey everybody, welcome, welcome, welcome. To all the Frederick clan, welcome. Welcome also to Rachel.
Rachel
Hello.
Matthew
That was for my family, and this is The Coolest Stuff on the Planet.
Rachel
Welcome to the rest of you, too.
Matthew
Yes.
Rachel
We don’t mean to be exclusive here at The Coolest Stuff on the Planet.
Matthew
Oh, this is an exclusive club of only the coolest people on the planet listening to this podcast.
Rachel
The coolest.
Matthew
Yeah, you know who you are, you. Today we are admiring some cool stuff in a place we haven’t really been to yet, in Russia, and what’s a better place to start in Russia than in Moscow, the capital and largest city.
Rachel
Yup. So, Moscow is located in the European portion of Russia, and is, in fact, the largest city in Europe. That’s a fun fact. So Moscow has a really long history. It was first founded in 1147.
Matthew
Today Moscow is a bustling metropolis. It’s been in the state of rapid economic and social change since the end of the soviet era. It’s a mix of old and new elements. There are so many amazing things that we can talk about in Moscow, and we couldn’t possibly mention all of them, but were gonna glaze over a few things, and we are also gonna mention some of the coolest, famous things.
Rachel
Like the Kremlin for example.
Matthew
The Kremlin is one of them.
Rachel
A good place to start. The Kremlin is this big – it’s basically a citadel. It’s this big, fortified complex that has mason walls, brick walls, all the way around it. It is a big complex that houses palaces, cathedrals, government offices, even the President’s residence is in the Kremlin.
Matthew
Everything you need apparently.
Rachel
Around the walls it has 20 towers. So that is the actual Kremlin.
Matthew
Were those defensive towers?
Rachel
I think so.
Matthew
Oh man, watch out for those archers. They will get ya.
Rachel
You love archers.
Matthew
Near the Kremlin is the famous and infamous Red Square. It’s probably the most famous city square in Russia, and quite possibly the world. This is where you will find Vladimir Lenin’s tomb, in which the Soviet leader’s embalmed body is on display. I think it’s on display 5 out of 7 days of the week. It’s his actual body. Now, how his body has been preserved this long, that’s something to be handled by our new sister podcast, Stuff from the Science Lab. So check that out on iTunes. But anyway, let’s move on.