January 5, 2023 – Theme Week Day 3

This is the 3rd day of our theme week on Things We Learned in 2022! In 2022, we learned that the Eiffel Tower had a growth spurt and became 20 feet taller when an antenna was attached to the top of the structure. The antenna will improve the digital radio coverage for Paris and the surrounding area.
The Eiffel Tower is named after engineer Gustav Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower as the centerpiece for the 1889 World’s Fair. It took 300 steel workers 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days to construct the tower, using over 18,000 steel parts and 2.5 million rivets. The Eiffel Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the world until 1930, when the Chrysler Building in New York City was completed. It officially opened in March 1889 and was an instant hit, with nearly 2 million visitors by the end of the World’s Fair.
The tower was only supposed to stand for 20 years. The city of Paris was going to dismantle it in 1909, but the tower proved to be very valuable for radio telegraphy, so it stayed up. During World War I, the wireless transmitter on the Eiffel Tower helped to jam up German communications! More than 300 million people have visited since 1889, with around 25,000 people climbing the tower every day. Learn more here.