The iron pieces embedded in the center of the Olympic medals each weigh 18 grams (about two-thirds of an ounce). They were cut from girders and other bits that were swapped out of the Eiffel Tower ...

When they make history at the Paris Games, Olympic medalists will take a bit of France and its history home, too.

Eiffel and his team, including Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, who drew up the original design, set out to dazzle the world with a 300-meter tower—which is what Eiffel called it.