10 Fun Concrete Facts

Keeping with the lightheartedness that comes with April Fool’s Day, we decided to take a break from the straight and narrow and lighten things up a bit. Whether you’re interested in concrete, or if you’re looking for some random facts to share with friends and family at your next gathering, check out the following fun concrete facts.

FUN FACT 1

The Ancient Romans were the first to develop concrete as a building material. They accomplished this by mixing lime, water, and volcanic ash.

FUN FACT 2

Cement is one of the main ingredients in concrete, and more than 2 billion tons of cement are produced each year.

FUN FACT 3

The Venetian in Las Vegas held the US record for the largest continuous concrete foundation pour with 21,000 cubic yards. However, in February 2014, the Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles beat that record with a continuous pour of 21,200 cubic yards.

FUN FACT 4

Concrete is used more than any other manmade material on the planet.

FUN FACT 5

Thomas Edison held 49 patents related to concrete. He experimented with concrete houses and concrete furniture. Could you imagine binge-watching Netflix on a concrete couch?

FUN FACT 6

The Pantheon was built using concrete, and it’s still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.

FUN FACT 7

About six billion cubic meters of concrete are made each year, which equals one cubic meter for every person on Earth.

FUN FACT 8

A natural deposit of cement rock was discovered in 1796 by the English. They quarried the material and sold it as Roman Cement.

FUN FACT 9

Three Gorges Dam is the largest concrete structure in the world, standing at 607 feet high and 7,575 feet long.

FUN FACT 10

In 1909, the first concrete road was built on Woodward Avenue between Six and Seven Mile Roads in Greenfield Township, now northwest Detroit.