Gizmodo: ferris wheel

Solar-Powered County Fair Makes So Much Sense

Dan Nosowitz — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15:00 EDT

This year's Marin County fair in northern California took its environmental theme seriously. A huge photovoltaic setup provided about 40% of the fair's energy with clean solar power—and a solar-powered county fair makes perfect sense.

Think about it: The only time you'd go to a fair (and not be miserable) is during a sunny summer's day, just the right time to absorb a ton of solar energy and use it to power rides like a carousel and Ferris wheel. The fair also featured an edible garden, a solar-powered audio show and a display of electric vehicles from Tesla as well as retrofitted classic cars. Hell, anything to make a county fair exciting again, right? [Inhabitant]

Singapore Flyer Strands 173 People for Six Hours, Makes Me Reconsider Riding It

Elaine Chow — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:03:00 EST

I'm in Singapore right now and had every intention to ride the Flyer, the world's largest Ferris Wheel. But after it left 173 people were stranded for six hours last night, I'm... hesitant.

The view from the Singapore Flyer, which measures 492 feet tall, is supposed to be astounding, and I'm incredibly curious about their crazy observation pods, each of which is air conditioned and holds 28 people. 28 people per 28 pods that suddenly stopped spinning last night after fires broke out in the control room.

The 173 people had to be rappelled down from the capsules, starting from those closest to the bottom. Those who had to wait the longest for rescue efforts were given food, water and methods of relieving themselves. According to commenters at the Straits Times, those at the top received virtually nothing—since it was much harder to communicate with ground crews from about 42-stories up.

This isn't even the first time the Flyer's broken down since it's grand opening eight months ago. It stopped thanks to a braking system malfunction in July, and got stuck earlier this month for five hours (on Dec. 4) due to bad weather. So, Gizmodo readers, I leave it up to you. Assuming they turn it back on before I leave, should I give it a go? I guess if it does break down, we can all look forward to more pictures of me looking uncomfortable. [Straits Times]

Santa Monica's 160,000 LED Ferris Wheel Powered By The Sun

Elaine Chow — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EDT

Santa Monica has delivered a bright and shiny upgrade to its Pacific Ferris Wheel, dismantling the old one to make way for a new behemoth that boasts 160,000 LED lights. The 90-foot ride, manufactured by Chance Morgan Rides, delivers visual performances every night and cost the city $1.5 million. Thanks to solar panels that soak up energy during the day to power the wheel, those extravagant light shows have a minuscule carbon footprint.

When it was built in 1996, the Pacific Wheel was the only solar powered ferris wheel in the world. The old wheel was auctioned off on eBay for over $130,000 to an Oklahoma City real-estate developer. Grant Humphreys, the developer, plans on incorporating the wheel into a mixed use residential community.

It has appeared in several Hollywood films, including A Night at the Roxbury and Thank You for Smoking. There's no doubt that its younger and more attractive replacement will probably get some screen time as well. [Crunch Gear]

China Begins Construction on World's Tallest Ferris Wheel

Charlie White — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:50:46 EST

Jaws were dropping all around when our own Adam Frucci brought back video of his harrowing 377-foot-high ride in a glass-bottomed car on the Odaiba Ferris Wheel in Tokyo, but now the Chinese are going to top that wheel with the tallest one in the world. Today, construction began on the Great Wheel of China, a $99 million Ferris wheel that will tower over Beijing at a stupendous 680 feet when construction is complete in 2009. This is not just any Ferris wheel, though.

You won't be sitting in swinging and swaying benches on this baby. Each one of its 48 cars is like a gondola, air-conditioned and holding 40 passengers, for a total of 1920 stomachs pressed against the top of their abdominal cavities as the big wheel keeps on turnin'. Nobody's talking about how long it'll take to load this beast. Too bad there was so much bickering over the design of the gigantic wheel, because originally the plan was to complete construction in time for next summer's Beijing Olympics. [MSNBC, via Spluch]

USB Ferris Wheel Phone Stand Instead of a Ringtone?

Charlie White — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:40:07 EDT

Before you click the Play button above, we'd like to apologize for the obnoxious noise this USB Ferris Wheel Phone Stand makes. Turn your sound down, trust us. Place your cellphone in the slot next to this USB- or battery-powered mini-Ferris wheel, and whenever a phone call comes in, it automagically springs into action, taking its ten tiny cars for a circuitous ride while playing that god-awful cacophonous tune. If not for its mute switch, I'd pay its $27 price for it to be quiet. [USB Geek]

First Look: Lego Creator Monster Dino and Ferris Wheel

Noah Robischon — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:00:04 EST

LEGO introduced its latest entries in the Creator series at Toy Fair. These use the same pieces and some of the sensors, gears and motors from the Mindstorms set, but don't require an engineering degree to put together or any software skill to operate. Details on the crane, crocodile, and a photo gallery after the jump...

The dinosaur walks, moves its head and roars using a remote control. It can also be made into a walking spider and a crawling crocodile. It will retail for $89.99 when it comes out in August.

The Ferris Wheel must be over two feet high. It's fully functional, and can be turned into a crane or working drawbridge (which both sound more interesting to me). This will sell for $69.99, and is also available in August. –Noah Robischon