
For more than a century, the Ferris wheel has captured people’s imaginations as a universal symbol of entertainment and spectacle. Today, Ferris wheels come in a variety of sizes and can be found in cities, fairs, and amusement parks all over the world.
However, not as much is known about the Ferris wheel’s past. Who created the “Chicago Wheel” and what served as their inspiration? The story is told in this CBS Sunday Morning video.

The original Ferris wheel was constructed in Chicago, Illinois, for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, as its name implies. Daniel Burnham, the director of Exposition, was presented with the bold idea of a massive metal wheel by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., a visionary structural engineer. The structure was intended to rival the famous Eiffel Tower.

It is said that Ferris was inspired by observing a water wheel. However, even with his structure’s original materials and scale, he wasn’t the first to invent the wheel. According to Smithsonian Magazine:
…a carpenter named William Somers was building 50-foot wooden wheels at Asbury Park, Atlantic City and Coney Island; a roundabout, he called it, and he’d even patented his design. But Ferris had not only been challenged to think big; the huge attendance expected at the fair inspired him to bet big. He spent $25,000 of his own money on safety studies, hired more engineers, recruited investors. On December 16, 1892, his wheel was chosen to answer Eiffel. It measured 250 feet in diameter, and carried 36 cars, each capable of holding 60 people.
Over the course of the fair, over 1.4 million people seized the opportunity to take in the breathtaking views of Lake Michigan and Chicago from an elevation of 80 meters (264 feet) thanks to Chicago’s Ferris wheel, which provided fairgoers with an unprecedented 10-to 20-minute ride.
More than 120 massive Ferris wheels, including gigantic observation wheels in Dubai, Las Vegas, London, Singapore, throughout China, and more, continue to amaze riders, despite the fact that it was sold to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1904 World’s Fair and destroyed for scrap metal in 1906.


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D.B. Cooper: Man who hijacked a plane and jumped out with a $200,000
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The World’s First Seismograph: How Ancient China Detected Earthquakes 1,800 Years Ago
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What exactly was the US's 'Ghost Army' during WWII?
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The Tragic Story Of Mary Ann Bevan, The ‘Ugliest Woman In The World’
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Iranian inmate dies from happiness after finding out he will not be executed
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15 interesting facts about Queen Elizabeth II
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The Baltic Way: the longest unbroken human chain in history
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Why This Belgian Bar Makes You Trade Your Shoe for a Beer
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Top 10 Greatest and shocking Archaeological Discoveries of All Time
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Terry Fox, a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 143 days before dying
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The Assassination Of King Alexander
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Reason Behind The Suicide Of Christine Chubbuck Live On Air
Actor Rebecca Hall had serious reservations about tackling the macabre story around why Chubbuck killed herself in 1974. So what changed her mind?

Robert Odlum, the first person to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge
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Blanche Monnier: Imprisoned For 25 Years For Falling in Love
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Nicholas Winton ‘British Schindler’: Man who rescued 669 Czech children from Nazis
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Mother who spent entire life savings for daughter’s cancer treatment won the lottery
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What Was the Beast of Gévaudan?
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History of Treadmill, punishment for prisoners
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Inside The Mysterious Death Of The Famed Gothic Writer Edgar Allan Poe
Hours before his death Edgar Allen Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore. He was incoherent, wearing another man’s clothes, and unable to explain how he got there. The cause of his death is an unsolved mystery.

Marion Stokes recorded 30 years of television
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Franz Ferdinand’s Assassination that sparked World War I
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Susanna Salter: The Trailblazing Story of America’s First Female Mayor
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The Littlest Skyscraper: How J.D. McMahon’s 480-Inch Con Fooled Investors in 1919
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