Fun Facts about Buildings

Did you know:

• Although we now know a "skyscaper" as a very tall building, originally the term referred to anything tall, like a triangular sky-sail that soared into the air.  It was even used for tall horses or humans!
• The first elevator installed in a high building in 1857 travelled at 0.45mph.  Today's modern lifts travel much faster and the ones installed in the Shanghai Tower reach speeds over 45mph - which is 100x as fast!
• For 3,800 years the Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest  structure in the world at 455 feet.  Today the pyramid would cost nearly £1billion to build.
• A Chinese construction company was able to beat all records and complete a 57-storey building in 19 days 
• The Hoover Dam in the US was built with the incredible volume of 3,250,000 square yards of concrete.