Big Ben by Numbers

Here are some figures about London, England's clock tower bell, Big Ben, which began chiming on May 31, 1859.

1.  16 -- number of storeys high of tower

www.safestay.co.uk

2.  15 -- weight in tons of bell

www/westminster.lovesguide.com

3.  334 -- number of steps to the summit (no lift)

www.thetimes.co.uk

4.  180  -- number of feet of the dial

5.  1.2 -- number of gallons of tea you could fit in the bell tower

wikipedia.org

6.  28 -- number of lightbulbs used to illuminate the clock face

upload.wikimedia.org

7.  less than 10 -- number of times the clock has stopped (ex. WWI, WWII, 1962 snowstorm)

www.historyplace.com

8.  9 -- number of feet of hour hand; 14 -- number of feet of minute hand

123rf.com

9.  312 -- number of pieces of opal glass in each of the four clock faces

www.flickr.com

10.  660 -- weight in pounds of the clock pendulum

news.bbc.co.uk

Note:  At the base of each clock dial, written in Latin are the words "O Lord keep safe our Queen Victoria the First".

Source:  Deconstructing History:  Big Ben (www.history.com)