"If the Eiffel Tower were now representing the world's age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle-knob at its summit would represent man's share of that age; and anybody would perceive that that skin was what the tower was built for. I reckon they would, I dunno." - Mark Twain (1835-1910)
(Marshak, Stephen. Essentials of Geology 2e, p. 283.)