CN Tower

The CN Tower is the World's Tallest Building and Free-Standing Structure and has the world's highest public observatory, although it is not considered to be a traditional building. At a height of 553.33m, it is an important telecommunications hub. It is almost twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower and more than three times the height of the Washington Monument. 

Located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the southern end of town to the north shore of Lake Ontario, the CN Tower is easily accessible from many major streets and highways. It was erected as a communications and tourist tower. 

The CN Tower consists of a main hexagonal hollow pillar of concrete containing the elevators, stairwells and power and plumbing connections. To the main pillar are attached the broadcast antenna and the two main visitors area. The main pillar has three supporting legs giving it the appearance of a camera tripod. 

Some floors of the Main Level are open to the public. At 342 m is the Glass Floor and Outdoor Observation Deck. The Glass Floor consists of thermal glass units that are 64mm thick. The floor has an area of 24sq metre and can withstand a pressure of 600psi. At 346m is the Horizons Cafe and Look Out level. 

There is a rotating restaurant at 351m called the 360 Restaurant. It revolves completely in 360 degrees every 72 minutes. The rotation is slow enough that you can enjoy the fantastic views of Toronto without realizing your view is changing every moment. Below the Main Level is the tower's microwave receiver shaped like a big white donut. 

The Sky Pod is presently the highest observation deck in the world. From here, you can see 100-120 km away, to the city of Rochester across Lake Ontario in the US, and see the mist rising from Niagara Falls.The CN Tower has the tallest metal staircase in the world. At the 1776th step, the staircase reaches the Main Level. The staircase is intended only for emergency use, and is not open to the public outside three times a year during the charity stair-climbing events. 

At the base of the Toronto CN tower is an attraction called the Tour of the Universe. For the price of entry you can walk through a simulated space port, see a laser show and experience what it’s like to fly through space. Tour of the Universe is open daily from 10am until 10pm. The CN Tower is open 364 days a year (closed on Christmas Day). Hours of Operation are daily from 9am-10pm January-April; 8am-11pm May-December. Cost is $16 for adults.

Tallest Bridge In The World

The Millau Bridge is in southern France and crosses the River Tarn in the Massif Central mountains. It was designed by the British architect Lord Foster and at 300m (984 feet) it is the highest road bridge in the world, weighing 36,000 tonnes. The central pillar is higher than the famous French icon, the Eiffel Tower. The Bridge opened in December 2004 and is possibly one of the most breath taking bridges ever built.

The bridge towers above the Tarn Valley and the aim of Lord Foster was to design a bridge with the ‘delicacy of a butter fly’. Lord Foster designed a bridge that enhances the natural beauty of the valley, with the environment dominating the scene rather than the bridge. The bridge appears to float on the clouds despite the fact that it has seven pillars and a roadway of 1½ miles in length. On first sight, the impression is of boats sailing on a sea of mist. The roadway threads through the seven pillars like thread through the eye of a needle.

The bridge was opened by President Jacques Chirac. In his speech he praised the design saying that it was a ‘monument to French engineering genius’ and ‘a miracle of equilibrium’. 

The bridge was entirely privately financed and cost 394 million euros (272 million pounds, 524 million dollars). The aim is to cut the travelling time to southern France, removing the bottle neck at Millau, through the completion of the motorway between Paris and the Mediterranean.

Source: technologystudent.com

Light house Alexandria

Alexander the Great had seventeen cities named after him. Most of them are no longer around except for Alexandria, Egypt. This city is where the Lighthouse of Alexandria stood. Alexander died in 323 B. C. The city was completed by Ptolemy Soter, the new ruler of Egypt. The city soon became rich. The city needed a symbol and a mechanism to guide the trade ships into its harbor. Ptolemy started building the lighthouse in 290 B.C. It was completed 20 years later and was the first lighthouse of the world. It was also the tallest building with the exception of the Great Pyramid.

A man named Sostrates of Knidos designed the lighthouse. He thought it needed to have his name carved in the foundation. But Ptollemy II, who ruled after his father, refused and wanted his own name carved in. Sostrates, being a clever man, had this inscription put on the lighthouse: SOSTRATES SON OF DEXIPHANES OF KNIDOS ON BEHALF OF ALL MARINERS TO THE SAVIOR GODS. Then he covered it with plaster. Then they put Ptolemy's name into the plaster. As years passed, the plaster chipped away, leaving Sostrates declaration.

The lighthouse was built on the island of Pharos. 'Pharos' became the word 'lighthouse' in French, Italian, Spanish, and Romanian languages.

In the 10th century A.D., the lighthouse stood about 300 cubits high. That means that the lighthouse stood between 450 to 600 feet high. Wow!

This lighthouse was designed differently than modern lighthouses. It was more like a 20th century sky scraper. There were three stages which were piled on top of each other. The lowest level was about 200 feet square and was shaped like a huge box. The blocks on which the lighthouse was built were marble. There was a staircase in the lighthouse that led the keepers to the beacon chamber. In there, was a curved mirror. It was used to project a fire's light into a beam. Ships could detect the beam from the tower at night or the smoke from it could be seen during the day from up to 100 miles away.

I bet you're wondering what happened to the world's first lighthouse. Most accounts say that, like other ancient buildings, it was probably the victim of an earthquake. It stood for 1,500 years but was damaged by tremors in 365 and 1303 A.D. The final collapse came in 1326.

The Great Pyramids

The Great Pyramids were built between 2650-2500. It is said that they were a tomb of Khufu. They are located in Giza, Egypt. The largest pyramid is 756 feet long on each side and 450 feet high. It is made up of 2,300,000 blocks, that each weigh two and a half tons. It took 20 years for 100,000 slaves to build it. It required 112 men to lift each separate block.

Men that were great thieves wanted to get the hidden treasure that was hidden in the tomb.They found a small square room called the Queen's Chamber. It is a passageway. The Grand Gallery is another passageway to the King's Chamber. It is 34 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 19 feet tall. After not finding the treasure, the men got angry and tried to destroy the tomb but stopped after taking out 30 feet of stone.

No one knows what happened to King Khufu and his treasure. Some people think that it was just an observatory, but we can't be quite sure because when people stated that, it was already over 2,000 years old. An astronomer observed a descending passageway above the Grand Gallery that could have been used for mapping the sky.

Now, except for parts of the Mausoleum and the Temple of Artemis, the Great Pyramids are the only things left standing of the 7 Ancient Wonders.