Defunctland: A Roundabout History of the Ferris Wheel

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In the Season 3 Premiere, Kevin and company go all the way back to the 19th century to explore the origins of World's Fairs, the Ferris Wheel, and much much more.

Selected or Major Sources:
America at the Great Exhibition of 1851 Author(s): Marcus Cunliffe Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Summer, 1951), pp. 115-126 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

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[Maswartz]

I kept expecting him to say "and that farmer's son's name was Michael Eisner"

[taveshii]

I want to live in the universe where France's most famous structure is the Eiffel guillotine

[poletooke]

“A courteous precaution that would have saved absolutely no one” Literally a perfect summary of 99% of safety features back then

[djdsf]

Fun fact: in Peru, we call the Ferris Wheel, a "Rueda de Chicago" which translates to Chicago's Wheel.

[aidanswiftofficial]

Can't wait for Defunctland Season 3: Episode 2 - The History of the World's Largest Fork and Knife

[ProjectSNT]

This video about the history of the Ferris Wheel has more dramatic reveals than any modern day blockbuster.

[atariblue]

"Which means someone wasn't charging enough to see the largest fork and knife in the world" Oh, how I love your snark.

[laceylance]

“The wheel was destroyed in the most graceful, respectful, and safest way possible - by 300 pounds of dynamite.”

This is the humor I live for. Great video Kevin. Can’t wait to see where you take us through season 3!

[davidmatoushek]

So it looks like we are not only getting the birth of theme parks, but also the early years of Walt Disney this season. I can't wait to see where this goes.

[lanceturley]

I love the idea of someone getting halfway through a ten hour toboggan ride, and thinking "Man, I really should have taken the train."

[zzammmsss]

"The farmer names their son Roy"
oh my god
"He named his 4th son Walter"
OH MY GOD

[Jwarrior]

I love how chill Eiffel is:
Make an elegant iron tower for France? Of Course!
Make a statue for a paying America? Certainly!
Help an American city beat his own tower? Sure, why not!

[foreverjetspacefella]

“A dime a dozen, or three dollars a dozen, when adjusted for inflation.” This is the kind of humour I like.

[eghawkeye]

Me: why the heck is he talking about the farmer
Kevin: “Walt”

Oh goodness

[markmeyers]

“What happens if the cord holding the cart breaks?”
“Feathers, like a lot of feathers, it’ll be like a pillow.”

[vidkidloserface]

"That man's name was George Ferris.... Junior."


Same energy as "Smith... Zap Smith... Brannigan."

[SamanthaPortUkulele]

"The centennial exposition drew in over 10 million visitors, which makes sense because the fair had the largest fork and knife in the world." Not gonna argue with that!

[kathrynfuller]

gustave eiffel: “we need a 1, 000 foot tower to celebrate the strength and innovations of our nation for the worlds stage! any ideas boys?”
exposition universelle engineers:
g u i l l o t i n e

[FixedKarma]

The fact that this entire video was essentially a segway into your series of videos focusing on Walt Disney is amazing, and I didn't even see it coming.

[werewolfsbane]

you are unbelievably good at making me believe i'm living in the mid-1800's and believing all these day to day technology are the most marvelous things i've ever seen. all of this is very interesting and you definitely deserve a job at PBS doing documentarys.