Mona Lisa comes to New York! And she’s almost drowned in a sprinkler malfunction

(via Bowery Boys History) Leonardo da Vinci‘s stoic portrait came to America during the winter of 1963, a single-picture loan to the United States (as a special favor to Jackie Kennedy) and accompanied by André Malraux, the French Minister of Cultural Affairs. The painting was secured by bulletproof glass and a couple Secret Service agents. Click here to see what else happened.