Leonardo da Vinci's portrait now known as the Mona Lisa is the most widely-recognized painting in the world. Have you ever wondered why? Sure, it's a good painting, and it's by Leonardo, which makes it notable. But up until about 100 years ago, it was just another of Leonardo's many paintings. Jason Pargin explains what happened to put Mona Lisa on the map.
@jasonkpargin Scholars: this video contains some exaggerations made for comedic effect
♬ Quirky Suspenseful Indie-Comedy(1115050) - Kenji Ueda
The story is true, although Pargin does admit to a little exaggeration for comedic effect. You can read the account of the heist in greater detail at Wikipedia. We bet that Lisa del Giocondo would never have imagined that her small, enigmatic smile as she posed for a portrait more than 500 years ago would become the most famous smile on earth. -via Digg