During the summertime, the Eiffel Tower grows taller by about 15 centimeters (six inches) because the metal expands when it gets hot. The most significant growth ever recorded was in 1976, when the tower grew by an impressive 18 centimeters (seven inches) due to the heat.
Besides its interesting growth, the Eiffel Tower gets a new coat of paint approximately every seven years. Over time, it has been painted different colors, like Venetian red, ochre yellow, and chestnut brown, before settling on its current bronze color in 1968.
Painting the 250,000 square meters (2.6 million square feet) of the tower’s surface is a big job, requiring a lot of resources. They use about 60 tonnes of varnish, 1,500 paintbrushes, and 1,000 pairs of gloves for the process. Surprisingly, it takes about 18 months to finish painting, but even during this time, the Eiffel Tower remains open for visitors to enjoy.
