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Ep145: Eiffel Tower · Kidcast Daily

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  Welcome to Kick Ass Daily, where we bring news, trivia, fun
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  facts, and more just for curious kids like you.
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  Today, we're going on a magical trip to one of the most famous
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  landmarks in the world. Imagine standing in the heart of
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  a bustling city, looking up at a giant structure that almost
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  touches the clouds. Can you guess where we are?
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  That's right, we're in Paris, France, staring at the
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  incredible Eiffel Tower. Let's start our adventure with a
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  question. Have you ever built something
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  tall with your building blocks? Maybe you stuck them as high as
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  you could, carefully balancing each one.
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  The Eiffel Tower is a lot like that, but instead of blocks,
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  it's made of metal beams. And instead of being in your
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  living room, it's right in the middle of a giant city.
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  So what exactly is the Eiffel Tower?
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  Well, it's a gigantic iron tower that stands probably on the
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  banks of the River Seine in Paris.
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  It's not just tall, it's super tall.
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  The Eiffel Tower is about 330 meters high.
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  That's like stacking more than 80 giraffes on top of each
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  other. Or if you think about a regular
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  school bus, you'd need over 100 buses stacked end to end to
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  reach the top. Now that's a tall tower, but why
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  was it built in the 1st place? The story goes back over 130
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  years to the year 1889. Paris was getting ready to host
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  a huge celebration called the World's Fair or Exposition
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  Universal. This was a big party where
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  people from all over the world came to show off new inventions,
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  art and ideas. The French government wanted
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  something really special to show the world just how amazing
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  French engineering could be. They wanted a centerpiece that
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  would make everyone say wow. Enter Gustav Eiffel, a clever
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  engineer with a passion for building.
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  Gustav and his team came up with the idea for a tower so tall and
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  unique that it would become the talk of the town.
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  At first, some people thought the design was too strange or
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  impossible to build. They said it looked like a giant
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  metal skeleton. But Gustav Eiffel believed in
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  his dream, and he and his workers got to work.
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  Imagine hundreds of workers wearing hats and overalls,
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  carrying heavy pieces of iron and carefully fitting them
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  together like a giant puzzle. They used more than 18,000 metal
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  parts, almost as many pieces as a huge Lego set.
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  The workers used more than 2.5 million rivets, which are like
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  giant metal buttons that hold everything together.
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  Building the Eiffel Tower was a huge challenge, but they
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  finished it in just over 2 years.
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  That's pretty quick for something so big.
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  When the tower was finally finished, people couldn't
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  believe their eyes. It was the tallest structure in
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  the world at that time. Everyone wanted to visit and see
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  what it felt like to stand so high above the city.
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  The Eiffel Tower quickly became a symbol of Paris and of France
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  itself. Now, let's take a closer look at
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  the tower itself. The Eiffel Tower has three main
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  levels, or floors. You can get to each level by
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  riding in a special glass elevator or, if you're feeling
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  extra energetic, by climbing the stairs.
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  There are 1665 steps to the very top.
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  Imagine climbing all those. That's a lot of exercise.
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  On each level there are places to eat, shops to buy souvenirs,
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  and amazing views of the city. On a clear day, you can see for
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  miles and miles the people below look like tiny ants and the cars
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  look like toy cars from way up high.
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  Did you know that the Eiffel Tower is painted every seven
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  years? It takes about 60 tons of paint
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  to cover the whole tower that's heavier than 10 elephants.
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  The paint protects the metal from rust and keeps it looking
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  shiny and new. The color of the tower is called
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  Eiffel Tower Brown, and it's a special shade that changes
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  slightly depending on the sunlight.
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  Some people say the tower looks golden at sunrise, bronze at
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  noon, and almost purple at sunset.
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  It's like a chameleon always changing its colors.
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  Here's another fun fact. The Eiffel Tower can grow and
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  shrink. No, it doesn't have magic
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  powers, but it does react to the weather.
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  When the sun is shining and the weather is hot, the metal
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  expands and the tower can grow up to 15 centimeters taller.
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  That's about the length of a big ruler.
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  When it's cold, the metal contracts and the tower shrinks
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  back down. So the Eiffel Tower is always
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  moving just a little bit, even though it looks solid as a rock.
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  At night, the Eiffel Tower puts on a sparkling show.
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  Every evening when the sun goes down, thousands of twinkling
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  lights cover the tower and make it shine like a diamond.
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  People come from all over the world to watch it glitter and
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  glow. It's like the Eiffel Tower is
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  wearing its own special party dress.
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  Let's talk about the visitors. More than 7 million people visit
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  the Eiffel Tower every year. That's more than the number of
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  people who live in some whole countries.
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  People take pictures, eat delicious French food and learn
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  all about the history of the tower.
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  Some even get to meet Gustav Eiffel himself, or at least a
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  statue of him that stands on one of the levels.
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  And did you know that the Eiffel Tower wasn't supposed to stay
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  forever? When it was first built, the
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  plan was to keep it for only 20 years.
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  After that, it was going to be taken down.
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  But the people of Paris loved it so much, and it turned out to be
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  so useful as a radio tower that they decided to keep it.
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  Now it's over 130 years old and more popular than ever.
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  Let's imagine for a moment that you're standing at the very top
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  of the Eiffel Tower. The wind is blowing gently and
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  the city of Paris stretches out in every direction.
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  You can see the winding river saying, the beautiful gardens
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  below, and the busy streets filled with people.
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  Maybe spot someone having a picnic or a group of friends
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  riding bikes along the river. From up here, everything looks
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  peaceful and magical. The Eiffel Tower isn't just a
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  pretty sight, it's also a place of science and adventure.
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  Over the years, inventors and scientists have used the tower
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  for all sorts of experiments. In the early days of radio,
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  antennas were put on the top to send signals all around the
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  world. Weather experts studied the wind
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  and the clouds from the top of the tower.
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  Even today, the Eiffel Tower is used to measure air quality and
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  test new technology. Here's a silly did you know
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  question. Did you know that someone once
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  tried to sell the Eiffel Tower? That's right, in 1925, a sneaky
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  trickster pretended to be a government official and
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  convinced some people that the tower was going to be sold for
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  scrap metal. He almost got away with it, but
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  luckily the Eiffel Tower stayed right where it belongs in Paris.
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  And here's another fun one. There are actually tiny
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  apartments hidden inside the Eiffel Tower.
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  Gustav Eiffel built a secret little room near the top for
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  himself where he could work or relax with friends.
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  Today, visitors can eek inside and see what it looked like,
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  complete with old furniture and scientific gadgets.
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  If you visit the Eiffel Tower, you might also meet some of its
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  animal friends. Birds love to perch on the beams
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  and fly around the tower. Sometimes you'll see seagulls,
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  pigeons, or even Hawks soaring above the city.
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  At night, bats might swoop around, catching tiny insects in
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  the air. The Eiffel Tower is like a giant
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  playground for creatures big and small.
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  Now let's play a quick game. I'm going to say a fact, and you
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  guess if it's true or not. Ready, First fact.
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  The Eiffel Tower was once the tallest building in the world.
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  That's true. When it was finished in 1889, no
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  other structure was taller. Second fact, the Eiffel Tower is
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  made out of chocolate. Nope, that's not true.
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  But you can find delicious chocolate models of the tower in
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  Paris bakeries. 3rd fact, the Eiffel Tower can dance.
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  Well not really, but it does sparkle and shine at night,
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  which is almost like dancing. Great job guessing.
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  Now before we finish, let's quickly recap what we learned
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  today. The Eiffel Tower is a giant iron
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  tower in Paris, France built over 130 years ago for a big
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  world celebration called the Exposition Universal.
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  It was designed by Gustav Eiffel and his team using over 18,000
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  metal parts and two point point 5 million rivets.
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  The tower stands about 330 meters tall, which is higher
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  than 80 giraffes stacked up. It has three main levels and you
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  can climb up more than 1600 steps to the top or take a
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  special elevator. The Eiffel Tower is painted
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  every seven years and can even grow or shrink a little bit
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  depending on the weather. At night, it sparkles with
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  thousands of lights, and millions of people visit it
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  every year. It's been used for science,
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  radio and fun, and it even has a secret apartment near the top.
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  Most of all, the Eiffel Tower is a symbol of imagination,
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  creativity, and the power of believing in your dreams.
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  Next time you build a tall tower with your blocks or draw a
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  picture of a city, remember the amazing story of the Eiffel
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  Tower and the people who made it possible.
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  Thanks for joining us on Kit Cast Daily.
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  Keep exploring, keep asking questions, and never stop being
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  curious. Until next time, Aurevoir.
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  That's how you say.