Thrill+Ride

Derek & Vincent (worldbook) Derek: Hold on there, aren't you the person who invented the first ferris wheel? I thought you died in 1896. I was learning about you in social studies class. Can i get some information on your invention for my project. Vinny: Yes, that is me George W. Gale Ferris. Where am I in this futuristic place. Well if you need my help for your project than I'm the guy to ask.

Derek: What is the ferris wheel? Vinny:Ferris wheels were originally called //pleasure wheels.//The first wheel was built by me, in Galesburg, Illinois. I built it for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The wheel was 250 feet in diameter. With its 36 cabs it could hold up to 60 people.The reason i built I is because In 1892, Daniel Barnhard, planner for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, announced he was looking for a display that would rival the Eiffel Tower built for the Paris Exposition three years earlier. I reacted by producing a design for a giant upright wheel.

Derek:Did you know that your Ferris wheel was used at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 and then was sold for scrap metal. Vinny:Really, i didn't know that.

Vinny: What are ferris wheels like now? Derek: They are much larger and they have flashing lights on the wheel.

Derek: What does a ferris wheel consist of and how does it work? Vinny: A Ferris wheel is a carnival ride made of a large, vertical wheel that rotates around an axle to cause a spinning action.

Vinny: Has my basic design changed much? Derek: No, your basic design has not changed ,although now there are other thrill rides like the roller coaster.

Derek: How did your invention change the way people lived back in the late 1800's Vinny: Well in that time no one had seen anything like it. In the short time after i invented it I had already made over 1 million dollars because everyone was exited over my new invention.

Vinny: Do you have any more questions? Derek: No i don't have any more questions, thanks for your time and help.

Vinny: Your welcome, now all I have to do is find my way back to the late 1800's where I belong. Derek: Ok i hope you find your way home. Bye. Vinny: Bye.

[]

Caption
View of the ferris wheel, the first in the world, and unveiled at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago, IL. (Photo by Chicago History Museum)

(Student Resource Center Junior Document) Ferris was born February 14, 1859, in Gaithersburg, Illinois. As a child he lived in Carson City, Nevada. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York in 1881 and set to work designing railroads, bridges, and tunnels. In 1885, he began inspecting structural steel for the Kentucky and Indiana Bridge Company. Structural steel is used in building supports. He took what he learned on the job and started his own business, G. W. G. Ferris and Company, which acted as a consultant to steel users. In 1892, Daniel Barnhard (1846-1912), planner for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, announced he was looking for a display that would rival the Eiffel Tower built for the Paris Exposition three years earlier. Ferris reacted by producing a design for a giant upright wheel. It was both an engineering and an aesthetic marvel. The original Ferris wheel towered 250 feet (76 meters) over the exposition and could hold sixty people in each of its thirty six cars. It weighed 2,100 tons, had a forged steel axle 33 inches (84 centimeters) by 45 feet (14 meters), could carry 150 tons of riders, and was driven by two 1,000-horsepower reversible steam engines. The combination of its lights and the rhythm of its whirling motion was similar to the visual impact of a steam-driven paddle wheel. To finance the venture, Ferris raised $250,000 through a stock issue. His wheel made a profit of more than $1 million. Ferris died three years later, in 1896.