Big Ben
Location: London, UK
Big Ben, one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. It stands at 314 feet. You may not know this but Big Ben is just a nickname for the clock tower its actual name is The Great Bell. The clock was once the largest in the world and to this day is still the largest in Great Britain. The clock is very reliable even when a building nearby was bombed during World War II it kept ticking.
Fun Fact: The clock's rate is adjusted by simply adding small pennies on the shoulder of the pendulum
The Eiffel Tower
Location: Paris, France
The Eiffel Tower is recognizable around the world. It is 118 years old, built on March 31, 1889 , for the Universal Exhibition in celebration of the French Revolution. The architect credited for building it is Stephen Sauvestre. Standing at 324m(including flagpole) it weighs a total of 10,100 tons. Climbing up it you would have to take 1665 steps. The Eiffel Tower gets about 6 million visitors a year.
Fun Fact: The Eiffel Tower has changed color six times in its lifetime.
The Gateway Arch
Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
The Gateway Arch is the tallest national monument in the United States standing 630 feet tall. Construction of the Arch began on February 12, 1963 and didn't end til October 28, 1965.The span of the Arch is 630 feet the same as its height. Each year about 1 million visitors ride the trams to the top of the Arch for about 30 years. More tons of stainless steel were used on the Arch than any other project in history.
Fun Fact: The margin of error was 1/64 th of on inch, to avoid distortion from the sun's rays all construction work was done at night.
The Aswan High Dam
Location: South of the city of Aswan in Egypt
The Aswan High Dam was constructed to stop the yearly flooding of the Nile and to create a water reservoir to prevent famine during a drought. Construction began in 1960 as a national project taken by the Egyptian president Nasser. The U.S. and the British didn't want to secure loans so it was the Soviets that provided the equipment. In 1970, the Aswan High Dam was inaugurated by president Sadat. In spit of the ecological problems caused by the Dam, its has been a blessing to the Egyptian community.
Fun Fact: The reservoir that resulted was named Lake Nasser.
The Hoover Dam
Location: Lower Colorado Region, USA
Standing at seven hundred twenty six feet high and one thousand two hundred forty four feet across, the Hoover Dam shows the United States' ability to build huge projects in economically challenged conditions. It was built during the Depression. It took less than 5 years to build one of the greatest dams of its time. Built on the Colorado River the Hoover Dam was built to control floods, store water for irrigation, and they provide generation of hydroelectric power, recreation, and fish and wildlife habitat. Over four thousand people visit the Hoover Dam everyday.
Fun Fact: Over 19% of the power generated by the Dam goes to Arizona
Mount Rushmore
Location: South Dakota, USA
Mount Rushmore bears the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The sculptor credited with carving the faces of the presidents is Gutzon Borglum. Work on Mount Rushmore started on August 10, 1927. On October 31, 1941 the monument was declared complete. Mount Rushmore has grown in fame as a symbol of freedom and hope for people of diverse cultures.
Fun Fact: Over 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved by using dynamite the blasts removed about 450,000 tons of rock from the mountain.
The Petronas Towers
Location: Malaysia
The Petronas Towers standing at 1,483 feet tall were on April 15, 1996 declared the tallest buildings in the world. The architect the designed the towers was Cesar Pelli. Work on the Petronas Towers started in March 1993 and was finally completed in June 1996.
Fun Fact: There are 10 escalators in each tower.
