Eiffel Tower is an astonishingly popular structure and there must hardly be anyone who doesn’t know about it. Here are few stupefying facts about the iconic Tour de Eiffel, as the French call it.
Saved the Demolishing
The Eiffel Tower was planned to be demolished but it was then re-thought for using as a giant radio antenna instead.
Pain(t)
It requires about 60 tonnes of paint to give the tower its first coat. Also, till the date, it has been painted 18 times. You do the calculation.
Living on the Top
Gustave Eiffel made himself an apartment on the top of the tower. Now that’s quite a view from up there.
Fined for Clicking
Eiffel tower has 20,000 bulbs which lights up as the night falls till 1 AM. In addition to this, it is a crime to click pictures during that time since it is considered an art work and you can be fined under the copyright law. Beware!
Most Visited
Eiffel Tower is most visited paid-monuments. It has had more than 250 millions of visitors over the years. Were you one of them?
More Labour for Hitler
When Hitler reached Paris during World War 2, the cunning Frenchmen cut the cable of the lift so that if Hitler wanted to reach to the top, he’d have to climb the stairs (which by the way are 1,655).
Eiffel Suicides are Not a Trend
They aren’t unheard of but are not that much in number too. It has been noted that there have been just 349 suicides since the opening day. Some were jumpers, some were just hanging and the others didn’t really die.
Experiments
Being tall comes with disadvantages too (…and I’m talking about buildings here!). Aerial feats just couldn’t wait. In 1912, French tailor Franz Reichelt attempted to fly from the first floor with a spring-loaded parachute suit, but crashed 187 feet to the ground instead.
Genesis
The Eiffel Tower took exactly two years, two months and five days. The building was not intended to be permanent because the con artist, Lustig, popularly known as “the man who sold the Eiffel Tower twice”, thought that it was a heavy maintenance.
