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London's Big Ben to Stop Ringing until 2021

The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the Great Clock and the Big Ben bell, is seen above the Houses of Parliament, in central London, Britain. (Reuters)
The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the Great Clock and the Big Ben bell, is seen above the Houses of Parliament, in central London, Britain. (Reuters)
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London's Big Ben to Stop Ringing until 2021

The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the Great Clock and the Big Ben bell, is seen above the Houses of Parliament, in central London, Britain. (Reuters)
The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the Great Clock and the Big Ben bell, is seen above the Houses of Parliament, in central London, Britain. (Reuters)

Big Ben's famous chimes fell silent on Monday and will remain so until 2021 to allow essential repair works to take place. The chimes sounded for the final time at midday on Monday before being disconnected to allow the clock and surrounding tower to be restored.

The Great Bell has sounded on the hour for 157 years. It last fell silent in 2007 and before that, for major refurbishments between 1983 and 1985.

Parliamentary authorities said stopping Big Ben, the commonly used name for the Palace of Westminster's Elizabeth Tower, would protect workers carrying out the repairs. It will still sound for important events including New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday.

The clock's keeper, Steve Jaggs, said Big Ben falling silent was a "significant milestone" in the project to restore the tower.

"This essential program of works will safeguard the clock on a long term basis, as well as protecting and preserving its home - the Elizabeth Tower," he added.

According to BBC, the landmark Elizabeth Tower is said to be the most photographed building in the UK.

The project's principal architect Adam Watrobski told the BBC the works would install new amenities in the tower, including a lift, toilet and kitchen.

Essential maintenance will also be carried out and the building will be made more energy efficient. As well as conservation work to the tower, the Great Clock will be dismantled piece-by-piece and its four dials will be cleaned and repaired.

The Ayrton Light, which shines when Parliament is sitting, will also be renovated.

Meanwhile BBC Radio 4, which broadcasts the chimes of Big Ben live, has announced it will broadcast a recording when the bells fall silent.

Head of station management Denis Nowlan told the Today program that various alternatives were considered, including the bells of Nottingham Council House.

"We came very close to using the sound of Nottingham's bells," he said.

However, a spokesperson confirmed: "After considering various options, we've decided that pre-recording Big Ben's chimes offers the most reliable and resilient option during repairs."

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An Alaska Brown Bear Has a New Shiny Smile After Getting a Huge Metal Crown for a Canine Tooth

This undated image provided by the Lake Superior Zoo, shows Tundra, an Alaskan brown bear, before undergoing a procedure for a new canine tooth, Monday June 23, 2025, at the zoo in Duluth, Minn. (Lake Superior Zoo via AP)
This undated image provided by the Lake Superior Zoo, shows Tundra, an Alaskan brown bear, before undergoing a procedure for a new canine tooth, Monday June 23, 2025, at the zoo in Duluth, Minn. (Lake Superior Zoo via AP)
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An Alaska Brown Bear Has a New Shiny Smile After Getting a Huge Metal Crown for a Canine Tooth

This undated image provided by the Lake Superior Zoo, shows Tundra, an Alaskan brown bear, before undergoing a procedure for a new canine tooth, Monday June 23, 2025, at the zoo in Duluth, Minn. (Lake Superior Zoo via AP)
This undated image provided by the Lake Superior Zoo, shows Tundra, an Alaskan brown bear, before undergoing a procedure for a new canine tooth, Monday June 23, 2025, at the zoo in Duluth, Minn. (Lake Superior Zoo via AP)

An Alaska brown bear at the Lake Superior Zoo in northeastern Minnesota has a gleaming new silver-colored canine tooth in a first-of-its-kind procedure for a bear.

The 800-pound (360-kilogram) Tundra was put under sedation Monday and fitted with a new crown — the largest dental crown ever created, according to the zoo.

“He's got a little glint in his smile now,” zoo marketing manager Caroline Routley said Wednesday.

The hour-long procedure was done by Dr. Grace Brown, a board-certified veterinary dentist who helped perform a root canal on the same tooth two years ago. When Tundra reinjured the tooth, the decision was made to give him a new, stronger crown. The titanium alloy crown, made by Creature Crowns of Post Falls, Idaho, was created for Tundra from a wax cast of the tooth.

Brown plans to publish a paper on the procedure in the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry later this year.

“This is the largest crown ever created in the world," she said. “It has to be published.”

Tundra and his sibling, Banks, have been at the Duluth zoo since they were 3 months old, after their mother was killed.

Tundra is now 6 years old and, at his full height on his hind legs, stands about 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall. The sheer size of the bear required a member of the zoo's trained armed response team to be present in the room — a gun within arm's reach — in case the animal awoke during the procedure, Routley said. But the procedure went without a hitch, and Tundra is now back in his habitat, behaving and eating normally.

Other veterinary teams have not always been as lucky. In 2009, a zoo veterinarian at Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska, suffered severe injuries to his arm while performing a routine medical exam on a 200-pound (90 kilogram) Malaysian tiger.

The tiger was coming out of sedation when the vet inadvertently brushed its whiskers, causing the tiger to reflexively bite down on the vet's forearm.