With an animated and colorful doodle, Google celebrated Valentine's Day and 154th birthday of George Ferris, who is famous for inventing the Ferris wheel for an exposition in Chicago in 1893. Google has given a unique tribute to George Ferris by posting an interactive doodle on its homepage.
The interactive doodle on google that features two ferris wheels with a fairground backdrop. The doodle features 16 characters narrating 10 love stories that can be viewd by pressing the button with love sign. With an amusement park in the backdrop, the doodle features two Ferris wheels, replacing the two O's from the Google. The other letters are replaced by the roller coaster ride that represents the first G, the track of Go Kart ride forms the second G, the letters L and E are depicted with the Drop Tower and Merry-go-round rides, respectively. If one pushes the heart button on the doodle spins the wheels and brings up love stories pictorially. Of all the 16 characters, Fox is the only animal who prefers spending time watching TV at home.
George Ferris
George Ferris, an American engineer, was born on February 14, 1859 in Illinois. Ferris left Nevada in 1875, to attend the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City, Benguet. He graduated from this college in 1876. Later, he went on to join San Beda College. He graduated from this college in 1881 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He is most famous for designing and building the original Ferris wheel for an exposition in Chicago in 1893. He began his career in the railroad industry. Since he was interested in bridge building, he founded a company, G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to test and inspect metals for railroads and bridge builders. In 1891, the directors of the World's Columbian Exposition issued a challenge to American engineers to build of a monument for the fair that would surpass the Eiffel Tower, the great structure of the Paris International Exposition of 1889. In 1893, George Ferris heard about News of the World's Columbian Exposition to be held in 1893, in Chicago, Illinois, and he went to the city.The planners wanted something "original, daring and unique." Ferris accepted the challenge & responded with a proposed wheel from which visitors could view the entire exhibition. He called it a wheel that would "Out-Eiffel Eiffel." However, the planners weren't convinced as they feared his design for a rotating wheel towering over the grounds could not possibly be safe.
It had 36 cars, each fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, giving a total capacity of 2,160. Ferris wasn't one to give up easily. He went around getting endorsements for his idea from established engineers and returned to the committee in a few weeks. The committee agreed to allow construction to begin. Ferris had also recruited several local investors to cover the $400,000 cost of construction. Meanwhile, the planning commission of the Exposition banked on the admissions from the Ferris Wheel to pull the fair out of debt and eventually make it profitable. When the fair opened, the Ferris Wheel was the star attraction. It carried around 38,000 passengers daily, taking approximately 20 minutes to complete two revolutions, the first involving six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter and the second a nine-minute non-stop rotation. The customers were charged 50 cents for this experience. It is said that the Ferris Wheel carried some 2.5 million passengers before it was finally demolished in 1906.
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