Big Ben trivia: 36 facts about the popular monument

Big Ben is a really popular British monument.

Big Ben is consideren to be London’s landmark. Let’s find out more about it!

1. Tourists and locals alike often say “Big Ben” when referring to the landmark tower at the Houses of Parliament, but thet’s true.
2. It was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012, in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
3. It is the bell within that is named Big Ben.
4. t is believed Big Ben was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner for Works.
5. His name is inscribed on the bell.
6. Others attest that the bell was named after Ben Caunt, a champion heavyweight boxer.
7. The bell was originally meant to be called Royal Victoria.
8. When Big Ben arived in London it was honored with a great ceremony.
9. It was brought down the Thames by barge and then taken across Westminster Bridge by a carriage drawn by 16 white horses.
10. That bell cracked during testing in October 1857. 
11. It was then replaced.
12. Big Ben chimed for the first time on July 11, 1859.
13. It would not ring for long.
14. That September, a crack caused it to fall silent for 4 years.
15. The BBC first broadcast Big Ben’s chimes to the country during a New Year’s Eve radio broadcast in 1923.
16. The bell’s strikes were broadcast internationally for the first time in 1932.
17. In 1940 the Silent Minute was introduced. 
18. People were slent for 60 seconds, while Big Ben was ringing.
19. This was in honor of the peoplewho were in the battlefield.
20. In 2017, extensive repair, conservation and refurbishment works begun and over certain months the clock mechanism has to be stopped.
21. Exceptions being made for important events such as London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations and Remembrance Day.
22. This didn’t happen for… the Brexit day.
23. The Elizabeth Tower stands 315ft (96 metres) tall.
24. It has 11 floors.
25. Its foundation stone was laid on September 28, 1843.
26. Its foundations were dug 10ft (3 metres) deep.
27. Its construction required 850 cubic metres of stone and 2,600 cubic metres of brick.
28. Its construction fell five years behind schedule.
29. It wasn’t completed until 1859.
30. Big Ben weighs 13.7 tonnes.
31. The hammer weighs 200kg.
32. The musical note it makes when struck is E.
33. There are four smaller bells beneath Big Ben.
34. They ring on the ‘quarter’ hours.
35. They strike the notes G sharp, F sharp, E and B.
36. The renovation work will provide the tower with its first toilet.