On this episode of Our American Stories, the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago needed a showstopper. France had unveiled the Eiffel Tower just four years earlier, and America wanted an attraction that would leave the world equally amazed. Most engineers proposed taller towers. George Ferris had a different idea: build a giant wheel that could lift more than 2,000 people into the sky.

Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of the impossible invention that became the Ferris wheel, one of the most recognizable rides in the world and an enduring symbol of American ingenuity.

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