Ferris wheel Future projects
Ain Dubai (Dubai Eye) will be the tallest Ferris wheel in the world and now it has another hidden feature to get your adrenaline pumping.
One of the legs of the structure will be fitted with the highest rope-climbing platform in the world. At a height of 150 meters, the structure will now be breaking two world records as soon as it opens later this year, with Ain Dubai standing at 210 meters.
Even by looking at the pictures on the internet, you can feel the thrill of riding such giant wheels! But have you ever wondered when was this spinning machine invented? How does it work? Who makes these giant structures?
In this article, we are going to answer those questions for you!
Early History
Ferris wheel was the American answer to the Eiffel Tower! Gale Ferris Jr., a 33-year-old engineer from Pittsburgh, had a vision and quickly sketched a huge revolving steel wheel for a fair in Chicago.
Ferris was not the first to imagine such a wheel. In fact, a carpenter named William Somers was building 50-foot wooden wheels at Asbury Park which called it a roundabout and he even patented his design.
But Ferris had not only been challenged to think big by his boss; 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 and so the first Ferris wheel was invented and was named after him!
