The Eiffel Tower is measurably taller on a hot summer day than in winter
Iron expands as it warms, and the Eiffel Tower's 300-plus metres of exposed ironwork give that effect plenty of room to show. Engineers who monitor the tower have documented it growing several centimetres in summer heat and shrinking back in winter. Is this actually measured, or just an urban legend about the tower?
Myth or fact? Reveal
Fact. It's a fact. Thermal expansion typically adds around 15 centimetres (about 6 inches) to the tower's height on a hot day compared with a cold one, an effect well documented by engineers who track the structure's dimensions, and it can lean slightly as one side heats faster in direct sun.
— Structural engineering records of the Eiffel Tower, Eiffel Tower