Word: toweritis
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Various efforts over the centuries to stabilize the 192-ft. (58.4-m) tower had the opposite effect--increasing the tilt until the tower was on the verge of collapse...
MAKING THE TOWER LEAN BACK In recent decades, forces pulling the tower askew began to compound each other. Soil continued to give way underneath, while stress increased on the stones on the downward side at the base of the second level. A panel studied several ideas before selecting a low-tech but effective solution...
...Giant weights stop the tower's tilt...
Beginning in 1993, nearly 2 million lbs. (870 metric tons) of lead weights were placed on the north side of the tower. Not only did the tower stop tilting, it moved--very slightly--back toward straight...
Fearing that restoration work would topple the tower, a giant belt was looped around the building and connected to large weights a block away. Thinner steel bands were wrapped around the first level for added support...