You probably know that the Statue of Liberty in New York was a gift to the United States from France.
But it was not donated by the French government; in fact, the money for the statue came directly from the contributions of French citizens, who wanted to give the United States a present to celebrate its first centennial since Independence in 1876.
U.S. citizens, for their part, collected the money for the concrete base that holds the statue. When the statue was mounted on top of the base, it rose 90 meters above the surrounding waters.
The statue is covered with copper plates, which originally gave it a bright polished color. But the color of the copper changes over time, and the statue currently has a greenish hue.
Also, but not as well known, there is a statue of Liberty in Paris.
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