Ferris wheel

For a while, I lived near the site of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, the Chicago World's Fair. My apartment was a block from the Science and Industry Museum, which is housed in the only remaining large structure from that momentous event.

 Possibly the most popular attraction at the fair was the Ferris Wheel, built to prove the superiority of American engineering by outdoing the Eiffel Tower that had served as the entry point for the Paris fair in 1889. 

That first wheel had much larger gondolas than the small seats today. The originals accommodated up to 60 people at a time, making it possible for more than 2,000 passengers to ride at a time. Over 38,000 people a day took the trip. You got to go around twice and the trip took 20 minutes, in part because they had to stop six times to load and unload passengers.

To prove they had done it, they were given a certificate at the end of the ride.

These became so popular that newsstands began to sell fake certificates for a dime. The ride itself would cost you fifty cents (about thirteen dollars in today's money), but there was that long wait in line. Some people (see below) were afraid to ride it to its 264 foot height.

The wheel was dismantled and moved a couple of times, even being set up again as part of the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Two years later it was intentionally destroyed.

Not to name names, but Daniel, who was a Green Beret paratrooper, won't ride in a Ferris wheel to this day. Perhaps if they offered him some sort of certificate ...