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Happy Ferris Wheel Day everyone!
This holiday celebrates the Ferris Wheel. On this holiday you are encouraged to take a ride on a ferris wheel and remember how fun it is to be up high while the wind blows over your face.
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Origin of this Holiday
Our research did not find the creator, or the origin of this day. It is possible this holiday may of been created by the greeting card industry because we find reference to it on greeting card sites that say-
"It's Ferris Wheel Day ! Make this event joyful with groovy rides n spins with all your loved ones. Add to the fun by sending these fun cards to friends/ family/ sweetheart/ colleagues."
This holiday is referred to as a "National" day- However, we did not find any congressional records or presidential proclamations for this day. Even though we didn't, this is still a holiday that is publicized to celebrate. So enjoy the day and have fun with it.
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What is a Ferris Wheel?
A Ferris wheel (also known as an observation wheel or big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure, consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas attached to the rim.
"The original Ferris wheel was designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago." "The name later came to be used generically for all such rides."
History
"The Ferris wheel is named after George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.. "He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and he was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania bridge-builder. He began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building." "Ferris understood the growing need for structural steel and founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders."
"Ferris designed and built the first 264 foot (80 m) wheel for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893." "The wheel was intended as a rival to the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition." "This first wheel could carry 2,160 persons. The Ferris wheel was the largest attraction at the Columbian Exposition, standing over 250' tall and powered by two steam engines." "There were 36 cars, accommodating 60 people each (40 seated, 20 standing). It took 20 minutes for the wheel to make two revolutions—the first to make six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter; the 2nd, a single non-stop revolution—and for that, the ticket holder paid 50 cents. When the Exposition ended, the wheel was moved to north side, next to an exclusive neighborhood. William D. Boyce filed an unsuccessful Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel, to have it moved. It was then used at the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair and eventually destroyed by controlled demolition in 1906." "At 70 tons, its axle was the largest steel forging of the time." "It was 26 stories tall, only a quarter of the Eiffel Tower's height."
"Sections of this Ferris wheel were used to construct a bridge across the Kankakee River, about 45 miles (72 km) south of Chicago, just north of Tefft, Indiana."
"The Travels of Peter Mundy, 1608-1667, describes and illustrates "Several sorts of Swinginge used in their Publique rejoyceings att their feast of Biram" in the Ottoman Balkans. Among means "lesse dangerous and troublesome" only for children was a Ferris wheel "like a Craine wheele att Customhowse Key", where the passengers swing on short swings, sometimes sitting, sometimes hanging trapeze fashion." "The illustration here is of a different Turkish design, apparently for adults."
"Another Ferris wheel, with a height of 65 meters (213 ft), dating back to 1897, is the Riesenrad in Vienna's Prater, in the second district of Leopoldstadt. It was designed by Hubert Cecil Booth."
"London, UK had its very own 'Gigantic Wheel' built at Earls Court in 1895, which was modelled on the original one in Chicago. This wheel stayed in service until 1906, by which time it had carried over 2.5 million passengers." "It was built by two young Australian engineers, named Adam Gaddelin and Gareth Watson and was the first of over 200 Ferris wheels that they built."
"For the 1900 Paris Exposition, a 'Grande Roue', of similar size and design to Ferris', was constructed. It was demolished in 1937." "The wheel had 40 cars (as opposed to Chicago's 36), and is clearly visible in photos of the 1900 exhibition."
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