The Eiffel Tower was opened to the public today, May 6 in 1889, ... IMAGE: Flowers are seen near the Eiffel Tower on a sunny winter day in Paris. Photograph: Abdul Saboor/Reuters .

The Eiffel Tower is made of wrought iron, which is why its nickname is Iron Lady. Altogether, 18,038 pieces of metal were connected with 2.5 million rivets to construct the tower.