High times

[953 nut 57,586]

National Ferris Wheel Day is celebrated on February 14 every year! If you love fun and adventures and you are not scared of heights, we’re sure you have fond childhood memories of riding on a Ferris wheel. Ferris wheels come in many sizes, they are fun to ride on and give a beautiful, bird’s eye view. Did you know that the ‘High Roller’ is the largest Ferris wheel in the world? The massive wheel is 550 feet tall and is found in Las Vegas!

Ferris, a civil engineer, born 1859, in Galesburg, Illinois, introduced the world to the concept of the Ferris wheel and designed the original Chicago Ferris Wheel. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, in 1881.

Ferris constructed his prototype as a landmark for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, as the United States’ version of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Originally called “the Chicago Wheel,” it took Ferris two years to plan and construct. Costing about $700,000 in 1893 and containing over 100,000 parts, Ferris’ massive wheel stood at an enormous 264 feet high, towering about 26 stories above Chicago. It had 36 gondolas (cars housed within glass and locked doors) and accommodated up to 60 (40 seated, 20 standing) passengers. Over 1.4 million people paid 50 cents for a 20-minute ride on the wheel through the next 19 weeks of the World’s Columbian Exposition.

After the exhibition, the Ferris wheel was moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904 for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and destroyed there on May 11, 1906, with dynamite for scrap metal. Some dismantled parts of Ferris’ original design were used to make the U.S.S. Illinois, a World War I battleship, and to construct a bridge over the Kankakee River, south of Chicago. Although Ferris lived a short life – dying at the age of 37 due to typhoid fever – his invention lives on, enjoyed by fun lovers around the world. Now, you could find Ferris wheels everywhere: in tourist parks, festivals, carnivals, and different kinds of celebrations.

 

 

[EB-80/8inPA 1,784]

Great news!  I forgot flowers and a card for wifey, and with this revelation I’m off the hook.  Now I just need to find my local Ferris wheel to take her for a brisk mid-February ride, instead.  On second thought…

[Pullstart 64,388]

40 minutes ago, EB-80/8inPA said:

Great news!  I forgot flowers and a card for wifey, and with this revelation I’m off the hook.  Now I just need to find my local Ferris wheel to take her for a brisk mid-February ride, instead.  On second thought…

I jumped the gun last night and presented her with a smoked Delmonico steak, broccoli, potatoes, and sautéed onions (and mushrooms (In a separate pan of course) @WHX??).  Flowers in a pretty vase and some Reese’s peanut butter cups and I won the night.  

[EB-80/8inPA 1,784]

1 minute ago, Pullstart said:

and I won the night.

You’re a better man than I, Gunga Din!

[Handy Don 13,267]

At the end of a visit to London, a spin on the Eye can tie it all together.

[ebinmaine 70,398]

I'll be firmly planted on the ground. Thanks.  

[8ntruck 7,340]

The last Ferris wheel I rode was the Big Eli on the roof of the City Museum in St Louis.

 

One of the more interesting museums we've visited.  The building was a shoe factory built in the early 1900s.  It was acquired by an sculptor who made his name with large metal sculptures of animals.  The museum is filled with an euclictic collection that includes a large aquarium, multi story slides, a theater organ, insect collection, collection of architectural details, and many 'secret' passageway and mazes.

 

Big Eli was built in 1938.  At around 50 foot diameter, it was a run of the mill wheel.  In its current location near the edge of a roof some 15 or 20 stories off of the ground, it becomes a unique ride. 

[Handy Don 13,267]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

I'll be firmly planted on the ground. Thanks.  

Sometimes ya gotta grab life by the ......

[ebinmaine 70,398]

5 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Sometimes ya gotta grab life by the ......

 

Ground. By the ground.

 

I'm fine on slower rides up to about the height of a telephone pole so I might do perfectly well on something bigger like a ferris wheel but I probably will never know.  

 

I'm far FAR happier being away from people than crowding to them so I'll stick to walking around the woods.

[Handy Don 13,267]

39 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Ground. By the ground. 

I'm fine on slower rides up to about the height of a telephone pole so I might do perfectly well on something bigger like a ferris wheel but I probably will never know.  

I'm far FAR happier being away from people than crowding to them so I'll stick to walking around the woods.

Interestingly, to me the London Eye pods (climate controlled) felt a lot like being in a very slow airplane with big windows. No rocking or vibration; 30 minutes for one rotation. Of course for real exclusivity, one can book a private pod with only your invited guests!

[ebinmaine 70,398]

17 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Interestingly, to me the London Eye pods (climate controlled) felt a lot like being in a very slow airplane with big windows. No rocking or vibration; 30 minutes for one rotation. Of course for real exclusivity, one can book a private pod with only your invited guests!

What's the seating capacity in those things?

[SylvanLakeWH 27,251]

5 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Reese’s peanut butter cups

This is all the world really needs... 

Edited February 14 by SylvanLakeWH

[Handy Don 13,267]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

What's the seating capacity in those things?

There's a bench in the middle that’d likely hold eight or ten. For regular sightseeing they aim for a max of 28 but usually around 25 (curious, I asked one of the ushers), rightly assuming most people stand and move around to see out in all directions. You can see the pair of wrap-around bearings that secure each of the 32 pods to the wheel's structure. 

The wheel never stops--they have about 60 seconds to unload, do a security/cleaning sweep, and reload via the moving walkway at the doors that matches the curve and speed of the wheel. (Actually, during my last visit the wheel did stop for about 5 minutes with our pod in a prime viewing position--they announced a loading delay.)

 

Edited February 14 by Handy Don

[953 nut 57,586]

5 hours ago, Handy Don said:

felt a lot like being in a very slow airplane with big windows. No rocking or vibration; 30 minutes for one rotation.

The high roller in Las Vegas is also slow and steady. My wife has a fear of heights and was very apprehensive about going on it but once she was there she loved it.

[Beap52 1,142]

50 cents was a pretty good chunk of change in 1893.  $37.07 according to the googler

 

In Manila, Philippines we visited an amusement park that had a Farris wheel.  My wife is a little wary of contraptions especially in countries that utilize equipment that other countries might consider worn out.

 

Guma is the duct tape of the Philippines.  It's strips of innertube that can be wrapped tightly around water lines to slow down leaking , it's used to hold parts together and should be in everyone's toolbox. 

 

With trepidation, Pam let us buy tickets. When our cart on the Farris wheel reached to the pinnacle, I said "Well looky there's goma."  I doubt that I "won that night"

[MainelyWheelhorse 954]

For a second I really misinterpreted the title of this thread….😁 That being said, I like to be on the ground. I’ve been like that for years.

[Pullstart 64,388]

3 hours ago, MainelyWheelhorse said:

For a second I really misinterpreted the title of this thread….😁 That being said, I like to be on the ground. I’ve been like that for years.