01x05 - New York

[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,
up to my ears in people,

which makes it
a little difficult

to answer my
Gadget cell phone.

Over 7 million people.

This must be...

Let's face it,

the old Inspector's
lost again.

Wowzers!

Now that we're here, let's
find out where we are.

Go, go, Gadget globe!

New york city, on the east
coast of the United States,

is actually made up
of 5 boroughs, or areas--

the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens,
Staten Island, and Manhattan.

This sprawling metropolis
began as a Dutch colony

some 370 years ago.

The dutch built a huge wall
around the colony

for protection.

Today wall street follows
the same path

as that wall--
hence the name.

Manhattan isn't the only
island with tall things.

Let's check out
a small island

with one tall tenant.

I'll give you a hint:

tall, green, and female.

No, not the jolly
green giant's wife.

Go, go, Gadget legs!

It's liberty island,

home of the famous
Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty
was a gift to the United States

from France,

in celebration of america's

and of their common goals
of liberty and equality.

How do you ship
something that big?

I should have known--

the statue arrived
in 214 packing crates.

Some assembly required.

On june 17th, 1885,

all those unassembled
pieces arrived.

When finally assembled,

she stood a full

Actually, lady liberty lies
about her height.

Half of it comes from
the 150-foot pedestal

the New Yorkers built for her.

It might be the world's
tallest foot stool.

She's so tall, her index
finger is as long

as the world's
tallest person.

The Statue of Liberty
is a snappy dresser,

but that spiky hat,
or crown,

is more than
a nifty accessory.

Its 7 spikes represent
the 7 seas

and 7 continents

to which the message
of freedom reaches out.

She also holds a tablet
inscribed with the date

of america's independence.

A permanent reminder
of america's freedom.

The statue is a welcome mat

to people from
all over the world

seeking a better life.

If miss liberty is
a welcome mat,

Ellis Island is a doorway
for many immigrants--

people who move to the United
States from other countries.

Although Ellis Island
is now a museum,

as recently as 1954,

this was the first stop
in the new world

for millions of people.

When the immigrants arrived,
they spread out.

They had to.

Ellis island
was overbooked.

They moved first
to the island of Manhattan,

and eventually
all over the country.

Wowzers!

We've barely scratched
the surface of New York.

And speaking of surfaces,

it's time for an Inspector
Gadget field trip quiz.

They say that liberty
is thick-skinned. Just...

We'll investigate
when we come back.

Inspector Gadget here,

back with an answer
to our field trip quiz.

Lady liberty's
copper covering

is only 3/32 of an inch,
or 2 1/2 millimeters thick.

That's about as thick
as a silver dollar...

But it's worth a lot more.

We've got a lot more
to uncover,

so let's go, go,
Gadget field trip.

New york is home

to many of the world's
tallest buildings.

It's all stone,
steel, and glass

as far as the eye can see.

I'm standing in front of
the metropolitan life tower.

In 1909, this was
the world's tallest building

at...

New york still has the
world's largest 4-dial clock.

Even bigger than
london's big boy, big ben.

This clock tower
was modeled after

the famous bell tower in St.
Mark's square in Venice.

Italian pigeons
not included.

For 4 years this building
had nothing to look up to

except the occasional flock
of migrating geese.

Then in 1913,

the Woolworth building
was built--

a whopping...

It held the world record
for tall

for almost 20 years.

Inside this skyscraper

is one of the most
interesting lobbies.

Not only does it have
mosaics, marble staircases,

and marble walls,

it has 2 gargoyles.

One looks like the architect
who designed the building.

The other looks like the man
who had it built--mr. Woolworth.

Wowzers!

I hope they can
take a joke.

But there's always
a new kid on the block

going for the tall title...

The chrysler building,
built at the request

of car giant walter building--

uh, or was that
walter chrysler?

Completed in 1930,

this massive skyscraper
stands at...

Mr. chrysler had
some special additions

put onto the building
just to give him an edge

in the tall competition.

These included a couple
of old hubcaps,

and a few choice,
oversize hood ornaments.

But chrysler missed it
by that much.

Within a year,
the Empire State Building

sprang up to
the incredible height of...

Go, go, Gadget neck!

This is one of
the most impressive views

in all of Manhattan...

If you can hold
your meal down.

In fact, this building
was originally designed

to have huge airships,
or dirigibles,

dock at the top.

These mammoth
mooring posts

had immense steel cables
attached to them

to hold the airship
in place.

The Empire State Building
held the tall title

for a long time,

but along came
a new kid on the block.

Twins, actually.

These are the...

Completed in 1972
to a staggering 1,368 feet.

Uh, one of the, anyway.

These twin towers aren't
really twins at all.

One of them is...

The other is

But they both have

From the top of the towers
on a clear day

you can see for 55 miles
in every direction.

The panoramic view allows you
to see 3 different states.

The world trade towers
were also the site

of one of the most dangerous
stunts of all time.

In 1977, george willig
suction cupped his way

all the way up the side
of one of the towers.

He left his signature
for all his friends to see.

So little buildings
and so many time.

Or was that
so many buildings,

so little time?

Some of the buildings
are home to more than...

Hey, cabbie!

Go, go, Gadget whistle!

[whistle blares]

here I am in one
of the 11,787 taxis

in New York.

If you change cabs ever single
minute for 8 straight days,

you'd never have to ride
in the same cab twice.

The taxi cab drivers,
or cabbies

represent over 80 countries
and speak 60 languages.

When we come back,
we'll take a taxi

to a place in the middle
of Manhattan

that isn't in Manhattan...

Or even in
the United States.

But first, another Inspector
Gadget field trip quiz.

Which of the following is true
about the Empire State Building?

We'll find out
when we return.

Welcome back.

Time for the answer

to our Inspector Gadget
field trip quiz.

Which of the following
is true

about the Empire State Building?

They're all true.

Whatever you answered
is right.

Now, on to our next stop.

Here we are at a place
that's in Manhattan,

but it isn't part
of New York,

or even the United States.

This is the united nations,

and it's considered
international territory

by everyone except
the meter maid.

The ambassadors come from...

Attacking
international problems

of a critical nature
day and night,

and loving it!

The U.N. is a meeting place
for the countries of the world.

Why they can't meet
in a nice coffee shop

over danish and espresso,
I don't know.

Each country has
representatives

that attend
special meetings

in the united nations
general assembly. These are

just a few of the interpreters
employed by the U.N.

To help keep everybody
communicating.

At the U.N., people
from all over the world

come together to
work out their differences.

The first step is
understanding each other.

With all those languages,

you can imagine the
difficulties here at the U.N.

Here the tour guides
talk to the visitors,

and the interpreters
talk to the delegates.

Every interpreter
at the U.N.

Has to speak at least 3 of
the 6 official U.N. languages.

But not all
at the same time.

Many can speak

Interpreters listen
to delegates

over headsets,

and read their translation
back into the headsets

of other delegates
in the general assembly.

Time to head back
into town.

Think I'll skip
the taxi ride this time.

I can get lost just fine
on my own.

We're standing at one of New
York's 14,000 bus stops,

giving you 13,999 chances
to get off at the wrong stop

from any one of
its 3,553 buses.

If you did, you'd be
one in a million

because New York's buses
carry over a million people

every day.

Instead of the bus,
we can take a leisurely ride

through New York's
Central Park.

Why do you suppose
it's called Central Park?

Would you believe it's in the
middle of Manhattan?

That's known as the...

Because it's a great place
for a picnic, frisbee,

or just lounging
in the warm summer sun.

It's also a dandy
grazing place

for these slow horses.

Wowzers!
That's quite a lake.

Now let's clippity-clop over
to the Claremont Stables,

where you can rent a horse
for a trot through the park.

It's fun.

Don't be a neigh-sayer.

While you head 'em up
and move 'em out,

here's something
more my style.

Go, go, Gadget
roller skates!

If you found it hard
to get lost on

the buses of New York,

you can increase your odds
to one in 3 1/2 million

by taking the subway

with 3 1/2 million
New Yorkers.

According to my keen
detective sense,

this is the largest
subway system in the world,

with...

Enough to reach from New
York to Atlanta.

Wowzers!

Of course this subway
doesn't go to georgia.

It goes around the city
to 468 subway stations.

In fact, there was my stop
right back there.

Whoops.

Are you ready to take
a short subway hop

to our next
field trip fact?

This is the...

It gets its name
from its shape--

an iron.

The irony is it's
only 6 feet wide

at its narrowest point,

which is room for
a very large closet

or a very small office.

Inspector Gadget here
with you in New York city,

one of the busiest cities
in the world.

If you stand in one place
too long,

you're liable
to get trampled.

Oof!

What are all
these people doing?

Have they lost their minds?

No, but if they're
not careful,

they may lose their shirts.

This is the...

It looks very complicated
down there,

but it's actually
very simple,

especially if you
change words around.

Think of it as New Yorkers
exchanging stocks.

That's what they're doing.

But what is stock?

I thought you'd never ask.

A stock is a piece, or
a share, of a company.

All sorts of companies

have stocks available
for people to buy.

When people own shares, they own
a portion of that company.

This is called investing.

When you don't
want shares anymore,

you can sell your stock
to someone else.

All this buying
and selling, or exchanging,

is done here at the
New York stock exchange.

That's all they do,

but to make it
look exciting,

they yell a lot
and jump around.

A person could lose
his assets in there.

Money, money everywhere,

and not a buck to spend.

Let's stop off
at the federal reserve

and see what other
money mysteries

we can help solve.

This is the...

To put it simply,
it's a bank's bank.


is one of the most
secure vaults in the world.

Whoops...hope it wasn't
supposed to be a secret.

Wowzers! Look at
all this gold!

There are...

Stored here.

Each of the gold bars weighs
about 27 pounds.

Over...

Worth of gold.

This gold is kept under
very tight security

in this huge steel vault.

No one person has
all the information needed

to get into the vault.

These guards don't even
know each other.

If they did, they'd
have to be fired.

All this gold doesn't belong
to the unites states alone.

Many countries of the world
keep gold here

in their own compartments,

which is very convenient.

When one country
lends another country money,

the gold is simply moved from
one compartment to another.

That's easy for
the check writers to say.

Moving gold
is no easy task.

It's left to special
federal employees called...

These people have to be
very careful with the gold,

and not just because
it's expensive...

Or because there are
cameras everywhere...

But because gold is
such a dense metal,

if the gold stackers
were to drop a gold bar,

it would feel
like 50 pounds.

Drop a gold bar on your
foot and you know it.

Just in case, they wear
special shoe covers

made out of...

The same material
that's used to make a jet.

These covers are
so strong

that if a gold bar
fell on them,

it would bounce right off.

Kind of like my last
paycheck from the chief.

It's getting late.

Soon the Broadway theaters
will be letting out.

Broadway is the street
most famous for theaters.

My uncle Amadeus Gadget
brought down the house

in his Broadway debut.

He was a wrecking ball
operator.

Recognize this site?

It's the Empire State
Building at night.

New yorkers must be
afraid of the dark.

They always leave on
a night light.

They say New York is
the city that never sleeps,

though it's been known
to catch a catnap

on lazy summer afternoons.

After gawking
at gold bars,

highlighting hubcaps
on high buildings,

trading tidbits with
translators at the U.N.,

and checking lady liberty
in New York harbor,

I'm ready for
a catnap myself.

Until next time...

[yawns]

go, go, Gadget field trip!