This morning’s random object was the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
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Most of my life I thought Pisa was some kind of watchtower with floors and rooms inside. Turns out it is just a bell tower with nothing but a winding staircase going up to the bells. It took nearly 200 years to finish because wars interrupted the work and because it started leaning by the second story. They even stopped for almost a hundred years in the middle, then picked it back up again. The builders tried to hide the tilt by making one side taller than the other. That gave it a banana shape instead of fixing anything.
The tower stands 186 feet tall. If you stack four brachiosauruses on top of each other you get the same height, though the dinosaurs would not appreciate it. The top holds seven bells, each tuned to a different tone. They used to ring them more often, but today they only sound on special occasions. To protect the structure, the bells do not swing anymore. Electromagnetic hammers strike them instead.
Pisa itself has about 90,000 residents. Every year about five million tourists pour through the city to pose for that classic “holding up the tower” photo. Tourism makes up around five to ten percent of the local economy. Just like in other towns that depend on visitors, the locals often grumble about the crowds even while living off them.
In the end Pisa feels like performance art. The charm is not just that it leans, but that people keep fighting to keep it upright. It has been leaning since the day it was built, and it is still standing today.
Click here to watch The Leaning Tower of Pisa episode of Sketch & Coffee, Live!
Also, if you or one of your teacher friends needs a 20-30 minute lesson on The Leaning Tower of Pisa, here is a free lesson plan for you:
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