Writer’s Choice: Ferris Wheel
Write a 50 or 100 word story about a Ferris wheel
I’m not worried about being stuck on a Ferris wheel during a mechanical or electrical failure. (A roller coaster is another story.)
I don’t worry about being on a Ferris wheel in the middle of a thunderstorm, because I figure the wheel’s operators will quickly evacuate the ride.
For some reason I am afraid that the rolling mechanism that keeps the compartment oriented correctly toward the Earth will break and I’ll be hanging on upside down, screaming in terror. I always imagine this happening to me on an open-air Ferris wheel.
My irrational fear aside, Ferris wheels are fun, gentle, calming, and even sometimes romantic rides. They let you see the world from up high and escape ground-level mayhem.
Invented by the ancient Celts in 1220 B.C., Ferris wheels didn’t become popular until 732 B.C. when the Greeks figured out how to power them using gerbils running on a circular treadmill. (The Celts used uneven solar heating to power the wheel — one side of the wheel got hot while the other cooled off — but that made it take nearly three hours to complete a single rotation.) Ferris wheels weren’t just for fun, though. In colonial Virginia in 1701, Stacy Hogwith modified a Ferris wheel so farmers could use it to pick apples from trees. Some historians say this innovation helped finance the American revolution.
What’s writer’s choice? Your story can be 50 or 100 words — you decide.
As always, make your story’s subtitle interesting and clever. Take full advantage of the subtitle space.
