Massive structure with cabins
Everybody knows what a Ferris wheel is. It is a giant wheel with cabins attached to the rim. The cabins are called gondolas, like the boats that people use in the canals of the famous Italian city of Venice.
Have you ever wondered why it is called a Ferris wheel? It refers to the man who built the first 'big wheel' - George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. Ferris, who worked for a company in Pittsburg in the United States, was a bridge-builder.
In 1893, it was Chicago's turn to host the famous World's Exposition. When it was last held four years earlier in Paris, the French built the Eiffel Tower. Ferris proposed his giant wheel as a rival to the tower, and when he had finished building it, it was 80 metres tall.
The world's first giant wheel
The Chicago Wheel must have been an amazing thing to people at the time - more than 100 years ago. It had 36 gondolas and each could carry 60 people. A ride on the wheel took 20 minutes and cost 50 US cents. It was demolished in 1906, but parts of it were used to build a bridge. It only held its record as the world's biggest wheel for two years. In 1895, the British built their own Ferris wheel at 94 metres. It was demolished in 1907.