Posts

February 14 is National Ferris Wheel Day

Today is National Ferris Wheel Day, a holiday that celebrates the birth of George Washington Gale Ferris on February 14, 1859. At age 33, he designed the first Ferris Wheel, which was introduced at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

national ferris wheel day

The exhibition was also known as the Chicago World’s Fair and commemorated the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the New World. It was one year late but, considering that Columbus actually landed on an island in the Caribbean, thought he was in Asia and never set foot on what would become the United States, maybe we should let it slide.

national ferris wheel day

The Ferris Wheel was America’s answer to the Eiffel Tower, the jewel of the 1889 Paris Exposition. When completed, the ride stood 264feet high, with a circumference of 825 feet, and had 36 cars, each 24 feet long, 13 feet wide and 10 feet high, weighing 26,000 pounds. Screens were fitted over the glass windows on each side. Doors locked securely; firefighting equipment was included. Conductors rode in each car to answer questions and allay fears.

Cars held up to 60 passengers at a time, with a total capacity of 2,160. It took 20 minutes to complete two revolutions, stopping at six platforms to admit and unload passengers then making a nine-minute nonstop rotation. A guard was posted on each platform to signal the operator when it was safe to resume.

national ferris wheel day

The Ferris Wheel opened on June 21, 1893, carrying up to 38,000 passengers daily. A ticket cost 50¢. More than 1.4 million people rode it over the next 19 weeks. On clear days, it was possible to see the fairgrounds, the surrounding city and countryside of four neighboring states. Three thousand of Edison’s new lightbulbs mounted on the wheel made it a spectacle at night as well. The ride had a perfect safety record.

national ferris wheel day

After the fair closed, George Ferris became convinced he’d been cheated out of his share of the reported $750,000 profits the ride earned for exhibition management. His investors and suppliers pursued him for nonpayment. He was also sued by makers of similar “pleasure wheels” for patent infringement. He spent the next two years embroiled in litigation.

Although he eventually proved himself to be his ride’s rightful inventor, the efforts took an emotional and physical toll on him. In 1895, instead of selling the wheel to an amusement park like Coney Island, Ferris paid to have it dismantled and rebuilt in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, hoping to earn a profit from ticket sales. The venture was a failure.

In what would prove to be his last attempt to pay debts, he sold most of his interest in the business he’d built, G.W.G. Ferris & Company, to his partners. He died of typhoid fever on November 22, 1896, at the age of 37. After his death, it was revealed that he was bankrupt and his wife had left him the year before.

On June 3, 1903, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Ferris Wheel, with $400,000 in outstanding debts, had been sold at auction for $1,800 to a wrecking company called Old Truck, which took it down and reassembled it for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s estimated to have carried 2.5 million passengers from its inaugural day in 1893 through its last day of operation in 1904.

In 1906, with neighbors complaining about the eyesore that remained, the Ferris Wheel was reduced to rubble with dynamite. Demolition experts had to use twice the amount of TNT they thought would get the job done. The first 100 pounds brought down the wheel but didn’t destroy the foundation. Workers drilled holes into the concrete and dropped in 100 pounds’ worth of dynamite sticks. What was left was hauled away as scrap.

national ferris wheel day

national ferris wheel day

Perhaps what we should remember about Ferris are his contributions as an engineer to the modern usage of steel in building construction and the experience he gave to millions. As journalist Robert Graves reported in 1893, “It is an indescribable sensation, that of revolving through such a vast orbit in a bird cage.”

Happy National Ferris Wheel Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

Share this:

February 13 is Get a Different Name Day

Today is Get a Different Name Day.  Why did Ruth and Tom Roy of Wellcat create this holiday? “For the pity of millions of us who hate our birth names. On this day, we may change our names to whatever we wish and have the right to expect colleagues, family and friends to so address us.”get a different name day

But why stop there? If you’re unhappy with your parents’ choice of name, as many children of celebrities undoubtedly will be, change it for good. Legally speaking, the first and most important step is simply to begin writing your new name on forms and correspondence, using it in conversation and introductions to new people.

The most common reasons people change their surnames are marriage and divorce. After a split, a spouse may want to jettison the name she (or he, but mostly she) took when wed. A parent who gains custody may wish to change the child’s last name from that of the former spouse, especially if the divorce was contentious. The situation is further complicated when the child has been given a hyphenated name representing the family name of each parent.

Another reason people shed their last names is to escape the angry aftermath caused by the scandalous, often criminal acts of one who shares their family name. Relatives of  Osama Bin Laden,  Jerry Sandusky and Bernie Madoff have changed their names to avoid public vitriol and get a new start, free of negative associations.

Every once in a while, someone turns this trend on its head by purposely naming children for, say, a mass murderer. In 2008, a couple complained to local news outlets that a New Jersey Shop Rite refused to make a birthday cake that read “Happy Birthday, Adolf Hitler” for their son, who was turning three.

Usually, a child must wait until he or she reaches 18 years of age to petition for a legal name change. That doesn’t mean that Adolf or North West, Bronx MowgliPilot Inspektor, Zuma Nesta Rock or Sparrow James Midnight has to use that name. But Mom and Dad might not like to admit that their choice was more vanity plate than proper name.

Find information and guidelines about acceptable names: nothing obscene, no racial slurs, numerals or punctuation. You may not assume a famous person’s name to sow confusion and/or commit a crime. (For example, calling yourself Warren Buffett to get a nice table at a hot restaurant or access to his bank account is prohibited.)

But, just for today, forget all the rules and have fun. (Except for the Warren Buffett thing; that’s never okay.) Rename yourself for the day. Get your friends to join in. If you decide to make it permanent, here’s some information that will show you how.

Have a happy Get a Different Name Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

February 12 is National Lost Penny Day

Today is National Lost Penny Day but its timing is no accident. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt introduced a one-cent piece to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great Emancipator’s birth.

national lost penny day

It was the first American coin to bear the likeness of a real person. Fifty years later, to celebrate the sesquicentennial of his birth, an image of the Lincoln Memorial was added on the reverse side.

All pennies from 1959 to 2008 also feature a tiny image of the statue within the Memorial. This is not a myth like all the hidden messages in a dollar bill; it’s really there.

national lost penny day

Four new designs were minted in 2009 to honor President Lincoln’s 200th birthday (or bicentennial, for centenary fans.) A new, fixed reverse, the Union Shield,  was introduced in 2010.

national lost penny day

In 2014, the U.S. Mint reported that it cost 1.67 cents to make a penny. The negative return on investment has caused many to call for the abolishment of the coin. If that happens, all pennies will eventually be lost.  Lincoln will live on the five-dollar bill.

Until then, remember the old saying: Find a penny, pick it up and all day long, you’ll have good luck. Well, at least you’ll have a penny and a portrait of Lincoln that fits in your pocket.

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

February 11 is Pro Sports Wives Day

pro sports wives dayToday is the 11th annual Pro Sports Wives Day, a national day of recognition for the contributions of pro sports wives to their husband’s careers and the community. According to Statista, which gathers statistics from more than 18,000 sources, 2014 revenue of U.S. sports markets totaled 60.8 billion dollars.

Pro Sports Wives Day was instituted in 2006 by the Professional Sports Wives Association (PSWA), an organization that seeks to unite all sports wives and provide information about financial planning, childcare, household management, marital support, franchise opportunities and domestic violence.

PSWA publishes a quarterly e-magazine and its website includes videos about diabetes control and securing pensions. There is also a PSA that looks suspiciously like an ad for a traumatic brain injury treatment center, and another that turns out to be “an intimate message from God to you.”

The association began Pro Sports Wives Day to acknowledge the critical role that the wives of professional athletes play behind the scenes by helping to support their families, charities, foundations, and each other.

Pro Sports Wives Day honors the past year’s most distinguished mentors, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs. It also awards Married Female Athlete of the Year, Pro Sports Wives League of the Year and the Pro Sports Wives Courage Award, which typically goes to a wife who’s dealt with a devastating illness, either her own or that of a family member.

“Most fans think that the player’s lives are glamorous and that players, wives, and families do not have any problems that non-public families face, which is not true,” said Gena Pitts, founder of PSWA. “In fact, we face more physical, emotional, financial, divorce, and stressful situations simultaneously that money can not solve than most people face in a lifetime.”

That’s enlightening. We didn’t know that pro sports players and their families have it harder than the rest of us. No matter what we may think of that assertion, we should all take a moment to recognize the challenges these women face and overcome on a daily basis. And have a happy Pro Sports Wives Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays