Was the first Ferris wheel safe?

Despite all of the concerns, Ferris built a giant amusement wheel that worked perfectly for the entire World's Fair. Not only was it safe, it was also incredibly popular. Over the next five months, 1.4 million people rode the giant wheel to get a bird's-eye view of the fair.



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It was finally destroyed by controlled demolition using dynamite on May 11, 1906 (18 months after the fair closed), to be sold for scrap. This was necessary because the contract with the city of St. Louis required the restoration of Forest Park.

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The original Ferris wheel could carry 60 passengers in each of the 36 cars, for a total capacity of 2160 passengers per rotation.

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The Weiner Riesenrad is the oldest still-operating ferris wheel in the world. It was originally constructed in 1897 to honor Emperor Franz Josef I's 50th Jubilee, and remains one of Vienna's most beloved attractions.

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It measured 250 feet in diameter, and carried 36 cars, each capable of holding 60 people. More than 100,000 parts went into Ferris' wheel, notably an 89,320-pound axle that had to be hoisted onto two towers 140 feet in the air. Launched on June 21, 1893, it was a glorious success.

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Motion sickness refers to that woozy sensation one gets when traveling by car, boat, plane, on roller coasters and ferris wheels. Motion sickness and visual vertigo (dizziness and unsteadiness brought on by visual triggers) can produce similar symptoms, and are sometimes mistaken for one another.

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Although it can't compete with high-speed roller coasters for sheer excitement, there is an appeal to ferris wheels that many cannot resist. However, this does not meant that ferris wheels are any safer than high speed rides, since they may lack the safety measures to keep riders safe.

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A Ferris wheel goes round and round. Up to the top you ride feeling the wind in your face and seeing all the sights. To the bottom you go, hearing the giggles of delight and smelling delicious popcorn and cotton candy. ?Just as you really begin to enjoy yourself, you feel it come to a stop.

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It was a warm late spring day in Clason Point on June 11, 1922, when 75 mile per hour storm winds toppled a 100-foot ferris wheel, ripping the structure from its supports and tossing it onto the beach ten feet below its base.

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