Q 01/05

Which German-born engineer designed the Brooklyn Bridge and died of tetanus early in construction?

A) John A. Roebling

B) Gustav Lindenthal

C) James Eads

D) Othmar Ammann

Answer · why

A) John A. Roebling

His foot was crushed by a ferry while he surveyed the tower site; the bridge that eventually opened in 1883 was the longest suspension span in the wor...

Q 02/05

Which illness, later known as 'the bends', left Washington Roebling bedridden while overseeing the Brooklyn Bridge?

A) Trench fever

B) Rivet lung

C) Caisson disease

D) Miner's palsy

Answer · why

C) Caisson disease

Workers digging the tower foundations inside pressurised caissons came up too fast; the same mystery illness had killed 15 men on the Eads Bridge in S...

Q 03/05

What did Emily Warren Roebling carry as a symbol of victory on the first carriage ride across the Brooklyn Bridge?

A) A wreath of laurel

B) A bottle of champagne

C) A rooster

D) The American flag

Answer · why

C) A rooster

She had taught herself catenary curves, materials strength and cable construction to relay her husband's instructions to the engineers on site.

Q 04/05

The Eiffel Tower was built as the centrepiece of which event?

A) The 1900 Paris Olympics

B) The centenary of Napoleon's coronation

C) The opening of the Paris Métro

D) The 1889 World's Fair

Answer · why

D) The 1889 World's Fair

The date marked 100 years since the storming of the Bastille; the tower's 18,038 iron pieces were joined with 2.5 million rivets.

Q 05/05

The Eiffel Tower is made mainly of which material?

A) Cast iron

B) Bessemer steel

C) Wrought iron

D) Bronze

Answer · why

C) Wrought iron

The metalwork weighs about 7,300 tonnes, and the top can lean up to 18 cm away from the sun on hot days as the sunny side expands.