Giant Ferris Wheels Around The World - National Geographic

Photograph by George Rose, Getty Images Not wanting to be left out in the game of tourism superlatives, officials in Las Vegas approved a plan in 2011 to build a 541-foot (165 meter) Ferris wheel just off the city's main strip. When construction began, developers figured they would see the windfall of holding the world record for the world's tallest. Yet not even two years later, the planned projects in New York and, now, Dubai, have upstaged that effort. Why the need to keep building taller Ferris wheels? "It's like everything else, like skyscrapers and towers. There's always been a race to build since the Eiffel Tower," says Norman Anderson, author of the book Ferris Wheels: An Illustrated History. "I think we'll eventually get to 1,000 feet." Modern wheels that lose their claim to the world record still have some solace: Virtually all of them dwarf the original Ferris wheel created for the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. By today's standards, it was puny at just 264 feet (80 meters). Published February 14, 2013 via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGs9prddYPqwULux33L4CiYL3JlTg&url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/pictures/130214-george-ferris-birthday-google-doodle-ferris-wheel-amusement-rides/

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