10 Things You Don’t Know About the Eiffel Tower

Almost everyone has heard of the great and beautiful Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. However, only a few actually know about these 10 interesting facts, and even French people might not realize them.

Here are the 10 fascinating facts most people don’t know about the Eiffel Tower:

1. They are close to demolishing it 20 years after 1889.

The beautiful Eiffel Tower, believe it or not, was made to be temporary, so 20 years after its creation, it was designed to be torn down.

However, it was proven to be useful as a radio transmission tower, which is why the French stopped its destruction, and it has become their number 1 tourist attraction.

2. The French people hated the Eiffel Tower are first.

Yes, that famous Eiffel Tower was called an eyesore by many during the time it was just created.

Luckily, most people changed their opinion in the modern era, as Paris is now considered one of the most romantic cities in Europe.

3. During winter, the Eiffel Tower actually shrinks in size.

If you are familiar with the laws of science and physics, you will know that some metals expand when heated, and some shrink when the temperature goes down.

This process is called thermal contraction and expansion. Cool little fact right? It is said that the tower shrinks by about 6 inches during winter.

4. Another metal-related fact is that the tower can rust.

Yes, just like most metals the Eiffel Tower could rust and potentially be a hazard if not repainted every few to 7 years.

Do you want to guess just how much paint is needed for that gigantic structure?

The process actually requires 60 tons of paint every 7 years!

5. There is a secret apartment at the very top of the Eiffel Tower that only a few selected guests can access.

Gustave Eiffel, the name of the designer of the tower, built a hidden apartment that only famous people and celebrities could access back in the day.

They also used the apartment to conduct some scientific experiments, thus community experts were allowed, such as Thomas Edison.

You know, the person who lights up the world by inventing the thing that replaces the sun during nighttime, the light bulb!

6. Before 1930, it was the tallest building in the world.

If you have seen it in person, you will probably easily believe this fact as that structure is so tall that it is hard to accept that it was not the tallest, at least 100 years ago.

It stands about 330 meters, or for you Americans out there, about 1,083 feet.

7. Remember, it was painted every 7 years or so, the paint colors they use are actually different from time to time.

It has been painted in different shades of red, yellow, and brown. The current date is called ” Eiffel Tower Brown”, a specific type of paint color designed for the tower.

Which color do you think they should try next? Green, Blue, Rainbow?

8. Scientific experiments of different magnitudes and topics were done at the top of the tower.

Ranging from weather-related experiments to different aerodynamics studies.

It is only common sense that they would have done that during those times as it is the tallest building at one point in history.

9. They installed over 20,000 lights in the Eiffel Tower which has become a tradition.

If you see it at night during the modern era, you will exactly feel that there are thousands of lights in that tower due to how bright it is.

Try to take a picture with it during night time, it is one of the coolest pictures you can get.

10. Visitors are allowed to climb the Eiffel Tower by elevator or on foot if they can.

It has approximately 1665 steps that you can climb. Well, we all know most of you reading this will not be able to do that anymore. So, you will probably have to wait hours in line for the elevator.

Conclusion:

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most brilliant architecture civilizations have created. Thousands of years from now, just like the Great Pyramids and other historical structures, we hope that the people in the future will think of it the same way we do now.