The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Gustavo Eiffel wanted to demonstrate the capabilities of modern steel engineering at Paris 1889 world exhibition. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustavo Eiffel's was unanimously chosen. A daring engineer's dream, the Eiffel tower weights 7000 tons, but the pressure it applies on the ground is equivalent to that of a chair with a man seated on it!
During its lifetime, the Eiffel Tower has also witnessed a few strange scenes, including being scaled by a mountaineer in 1954, and parachuted off of in 1984 by two Englishmen. In 1923 a journalist rode a bicycle down from the first level. Some accounts say he rode down the stairs, other accounts suggest the exterior of one of the tower's four legs which slope outward.