Started thinking more about the Ferris wheel, which was made for the "World's Columbian Exposition" in Chicago in 1890; celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America. The first cars were huge. They were 24 feet long, 13 feet wide, and 10 feet high. The passengers, 38 to 60 per car, were protected by glass and screen. Like train cars, these cars had a conductor; one to each car. The wheel had at least 21 cars from what I could tell. George Washington Gale Ferris created the masterpiece to "compete" against the magnificence of the Eiffel Tower. The original Ferris wheel ended up in St. Louis. Can you imagine moving that much equipment in 1904.
Parick Mehan wrote a great article on the Ferris wheel and I've summed up some of it in the above paragraph. To read the article, you can find it at http://www.hydeparkhistory.org/newsletter.html. It's well worth reading because it goes into the details.
I can remember my first ride on a double Ferris wheel too but that memory doesn't bring any feelings like my first ride. The reason I remember it was because it was a "double" Ferris wheel.
For additional information about Ferris wheels, I liked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_wheel the best.