Big Ben vs Pentagon

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Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock in the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London; the name is often extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of this tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower; it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the uk. The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin at a neo-Gothic style. When completed in 1859, its clock was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock on the planet. The tower stands 315 ft (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. Its foundation is square, measuring 39 ft (12 m) on each side. Dials of the clock are 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter. On 31 May 2009, celebrations were held to mark the tower's 150th anniversary.Big Ben is the biggest of the tower's five bells and weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes; 15.1 short tons). It was the biggest bell in the United Kingdom for 23 years. The origin of this bell's nickname is open to question; it might be named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw its own installation, or heavyweight boxing champion Benjamin Caunt.

Four quarter bells chime at 15, 30 and 45 minutes past the hour and just before Big Ben tolls on the hour. The clock uses its first Victorian mechanics, but an electric motor can be applied as a backup. The tower is a British cultural icon recognised all over the world. It is among the most prominent symbols of the uk and parliamentary democracy, and it is often used in the establishing shot of films set in London. The clock tower has been a part of a Grade I listed building since 1970 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. On 21 August 2017, a four-year schedule of renovation works began on the tower, which are to include the addition of a lift. In addition, there are plans to re-glaze and repaint the clock dials. With a few exceptions, such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday, the bells should be silent until the work is completed in 2021.

Source: Wikipedia

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The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense.

As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase The Pentagon is also often used as a metonym for the Department of Defense and its leadership. Located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., the building was designed by American architect George Bergstrom and constructed by contractor John McShain. Ground was broken on 11 September 1941, and the building was dedicated on 15 January 1943. General Brehon Somervell supplied the important motivating power behind the project; Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U.S. Army. The Pentagon is the world's largest office building, with about 6,500,000 sq feet (600,000 m2) of space, of which 3,700,000 sq feet (340,000 m2) are used as offices. Some 23,000 military and civilian employees, and another 3,000 non-defense support employees, work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi (28.2 km) of corridors. The fundamental five-acre (20,000 m2) pentagonal plaza is nicknamed'ground zero' on the presumption that it would be a prime target in a nuclear war.On 11 September 2001, exactly 60 years after the building's construction began, American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and flown into the western side of the building, killing 189 people (59 victims and the five terrorists on board the airliner, as well as 125 victims in the building), according to the 9/11 Commission Report. It was the first major foreign attack on Washington's governmental facilities since the town was burned by the British during the War of 1812. The Pentagon is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

Source: Wikipedia