British colonial authorities actually built a massive scaffold of bamboo over the entire Taj Mahal during World War Two in order to disguise the glowing white marble monument from Japanese bomber planes.

A closer look

British colonial authorities actually built a massive scaffold of bamboo over the entire Taj Mahal during World War Two in order to disguise the glowing white marble monument from Japanese bomber planes. They made one of the most stunning architectural achievements in human history look like a completely useless, giant pile of random sticks from the sky, and surprisingly enough, the incredibly low-tech camouflage actually worked perfectly. Now, millions of tourists visit the mausoleum each year, completely unaware that this magnificent symbol of eternal love was once cosplaying as a massive woodpile to avoid being blown to smithereens. Of course, modern visitors are mostly just trying to get that one perfect photo while pretending there aren't forty thousand other sweating people directly out of frame, desperately trying to crop out the horrific smog rolling in from the nearby city!