Ferris Wheel

i never ride a Ferris wheel before but would like to ride it someday.

The Ferris Wheel was introduced to the world at the World's Colombian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. It was built to rival the Paris creation of the Eiffel Tower, a landmark exhibition in 1889 in France

. It is interesting to note that the first Ferris Wheel was built by bridge-maker George Ferris. His knowledge of struts, beams and supports, as well as a skilled mastery of foundation and balance of larger constructions made him the man for the job.

Ferris conceived the idea of the Wheel by looking the a structure of the Merry-go-Round. A popular part of the carnival, it seemed to generate large revenue, with a relatively simple structure. In response to the Eiffel Tower, Ferris knew that his invention had to be very large. Ferris concluded that a vertical wheel would make the same splash as a horizontal one, and he set about drawing up plans for a wheel that would make every wheel known to man look small.

The Ferris Wheel cost $380,000.00 to make and stood at 264 feet. After its execution, however, it grossed twice as much in ride sales, making it a very profitable member of the exhibition. The diameter of the wheel was 250 feet, making it the largest known wheel in American at the time. It also contained an axle of 45 feet, which was unheard of. The Ferris Wheel was powered by 2,000 engine worth of horsepower, and it contained 36 wooden cars that were suspended by iron clamps to the structure of the Wheel and axle. It held 2160 passengers and stopped on every second revolution to let a new group of people in its cars.It was built by the Detroit Bridge and Iron works, and it ran at .50 a ride. It was transferred to St. Louis for another Exposition in 1904, and after that, the world's first Ferris Wheel was taken down and sold to various metal dealers.

Stories of the Chicago unveiling of the Wheel are sweet and tinged with nostalgia. Many reporters were present for the first execution of the wheel, to see George Ferris and his wife christening their creation. A company of reporters and the inventor entered the cars at 6:30 on June 16th, the date of the first unveiling. Dressed in ball gowns and carrying champagne and cigars, they toasted each revolution of the car and gave several rounds of applause for the inventor. Ferris himself made a quiet speech, then sat in the car with his wife for about five revolutions.

Ferris wheel are still very popular today. In fact, a carnival is not considered a carnival without the Ferris Wheel. Because this invention was an American contribution to the World's Fair, it has become a staple of the fairground. The wheel that exist today are model replicas of the original Ferris Wheel.

here are some fact on Ferris wheel:

the tallest Ferris wheel nowadays is Singapore Flyer located at Singapore with height of 165m (541 ft).

Singapore Flyer.

the second highest Ferris wheel is Star of Nanchang located at Nanchang, China with height of 160m (525 ft).

Star of Nanchang

the third highest is London Eye located at London, United Kingdom with height of 135m (443 ft)

London Eye