Introduction

Have you ever been on a Ferris wheel? How high was it?

The largest Ferris wheel in the world is currently the "High Roller," standing at 550 feet tall in Las Vegas. Other notable Ferris wheels include the famous London Eye and the Wiener Riesenrad. The name "Ferris wheel" comes from its inventor, George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., who designed and constructed one for the 1893 Chicago World Fair.

The history of the Ferris wheel dates back even further, to 17th-century Ottoman Bulgaria, where similar contraptions were used for amusement by children and adults alike. In many parts of the world, the Ferris wheel is called a "Vienna wheel" after the Wiener Riesenrad, which was built in 1897 for the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I. This is the oldest Ferris wheel still in use, continuing to operate over a century later!