10 FACTS ABOUT EIFFEL TOWER

The Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer", it was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair.

1. The Eiffel Tower was once yellow

2. It was built to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution

3. For four decades it was the world’s tallest structure

4. The Eiffel Tower was once the world’s largest billboard

5. Gustave Eiffel designed part of another famous landmark

6. Parisian artists petitioned against the “monstrous” structure

7. Radio saved the Eiffel Tower from destruction 

8. The Eiffel Tower contributed to the capture of Mata Hari

9. The tower housed a scientific laboratory

10. Daredevils have died attempting aerial feats at the tower