Endometriosis (say en-doh-mee-tree-OH-sus) is a problem many women have during their childbearing years. It means that a type of tissue that lines your uterus is also growing outside your uterus. This does not always cause symptoms. And it usually isn't dangerous.
A massive bell was required and the first attempt (made by John Warner & Sons at Stockton-on-Tees) cracked irreparably. The metal was melted down and the bell recast in Whitechapel in 1858. Big Ben first rang across Westminster on 31 May 1859. A short time later, in September 1859, Big Ben cracked.
The bell was nicknamed Big Ben, possibly after Sir Benjamin Hall, the project commissioner who was apparently quite a large gentleman himself. The four accompanying quarter chiming bells weigh 1 ton, 1.25 tons, 1.6 tons and 3.5 tons.