Ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier Aug 21, 2018

Ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier

The story of the Ferris wheel, first invented for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, is a prime example of human ingenuity in urban environments, which happened to be the theme of our most recent photo contest. Congrats to contest winner Chris Fabregas, who captured this shot of human ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier in California. Santa Monica debuted its Ferris wheel here in 1996 and then adapted it two years later to make it the world’s first solar-powered Ferris wheel, using clean energy for the ride that propelled about 800 passengers an hour. In 2014 it was replaced with a newer version that sports 174,000 LED lights, providing for glittering nighttime scenes just like this.

© Chris Fabregas

palette

Today in History

Aug 21, 2019Look before you leap
Aug 21, 2020Lobster tales
Aug 21, 2021Ambassadors of the airwaves
Aug 21, 2022International Lighthouse Weekend
Aug 21, 2023Discovery Day in Yukon, Canada
Aug 21, 2024Nazca boobies, Wolf Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Aug 21, 2025A wheatear in Peak District National Park, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 8, 2025Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia
Oct 2, 2024Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Jan 21, 2019A day of service for Dr. King
Jan 21, 2023Kangaroo family for National Hugging Day
Mar 10, 2025National Napping Day
Mar 27, 2022World Theatre Day
May 17, 2022Salt ponds of Maras, Peru
Jun 24, 2024Kelimutu, Flores, Indonesia
Mar 9, 2020This grizzly has Napping Day down
Jan 14, 2024Whooper swans in Lake Kussharo, Japan
Jul 11, 2024World Population Day
Feb 27, 2025International Polar Bear Day
Apr 22, 202050 years of Earth Day
Jul 14, 2024La Geria wine region, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Oct 15, 2022International Archaeology Day
Jan 10, 2021China s colorful terraced pools
Nov 24, 2020Feel the spray in Monterey
Oct 21, 2019The Guggenheim turns 60
Oct 13, 2018‘Hello’ from zero degrees longitude
May 13, 2019In praise of bogs, swamps, and marshes
May 12, 2022International Nurses Day
Jun 24, 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Apr 4, 2021A yearly sign that spring has sprung
Jul 11, 2021Why, aloe there
May 1, 2019Purple flowers and Golden Week
Jan 14, 2025Village of Zahara de la Sierra, Cadiz, Spain
Mar 3, 2020All eyes on sustainability
Aug 28, 2020A prison fit for a count
Oct 30, 2018A species worth defending
Oct 26, 2019 FOR FOREST by Klaus Littmann