This year the Eiffel Tower turned 126 years. Here are ten quirky facts about the Eiffel Tower, the world-famous symbol of Paris, listed by The Telegraph.
1.The famous scammer Victor Lustig “sold” the Eiffel Tower to metal collection companies on two occasions.
2. When the weather is cold the tower shrinks by 15 centimetres.
3. Several people have flown under the tower arches. Leon Collet tried to do that in 1926 but failed and died.
4. The Eiffel Tower has the same nickname as Margaret Thatcher – The Iron Lady.
5. In 1944 – when the Allies approached Paris – Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ordered to destroy the tower. The general manager refused to do that.
6. The architect Gustave Eiffel had an apartment on the third floor, which is now open to the public.
7. In 2008 a woman who had a fetish for objects related to the tower changed her name to Erika La Tour Eiffel.
8. You can build your own Eiffel Tower in Lego. One set contains 3,428 blocks.
9. 20,000 light bulbs illuminate the tower at night.
10. In 1960 French President Charles de Gaulle planned to dismantle the tower and send it to the World Expo in Montreal seven years later. But nothing came of the plans.
