Paris and the Eiffel Tower

Last night l was watching cable and they showed a great documentary on the Eiffel Tower. So l thought l would also write a post about some interesting facts. Maybe you can use them to impress someone at your next dinner party!

• The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris.
• It was completed in 1889, taking less than 2 years.
• Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, who paid for its construction form his own money and the tallest building Paris
• Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun!

• You can go to the top only via the lifts; the stairways do not get yo all the way up, due to safety reasons.
• After some time its popularity decreased and they were going to sell it as scrp metal, imagine that!
• Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top.

• Eiffel and his engineers were renowned bridge builders and they understood the importance of wind forces and knew that if they were going to build the tallest structure in the world they had to be certain it would withstand the wind. Therefore, this is why is has curved legs.
• The shape of the tower was therefore determined by mathematical calculation involving wind resistance.
• In an interview reported in the newspaper Le Temps, Eiffel said:

• The funniest thing that they said during the show was the Eiffel Tower is as popular as Coke or Sony, except they do not have to pay for advertising! How true they are the first thing that l picture when l think of France is the Eiffel Tower. How about you?