Photo of the day (8.5.10)

by Meg Nesterov on

This photo by narinnr from Kagoshima, Japan (the Naples of the East, says Wikipedia) captures a Ferris wheel built atop a shopping center next to the train station. How fun is that? Imagine if you could kill time between trains at Penn Station riding high above New York?! I’m partial to the Gravitron when choosing an amusement ride, although spinning around against centrifugal force is probably not so fun before a long train ride.

Even more interesting are the statues in front of the Ferris wheel, part of the Satuma students’ monument, dedicated to 19 Japanese students smuggled into Britain in 1865 to learn Western technology. Imagine being the first in your country to study abroad and being responsible for the start of the industrial revolution. Kinda makes a semester abroad in Prague drinking as much beer as humanly possible seem a little weak.

Do you have a photo that will inspire many Google and Wikipedia searches? Or maybe an interesting monument or an unusually-located amusement ride in your travels? Upload it to Gadling’s Flickr group and we might use it for a future Photo of the Day.

Recreate your favorite Ferris Bueller moment with Explore Chicago and Foursquare

by Scott Carmichael on

Long before I ever considered moving to Chicago, I knew the city was amazing – and I owe that all to Ferris Bueller. This classic 80’s movie showed off some of the best the city has to offer, and is one of my all time favorites.

The folks at Explore Chicago already created a Foursquare badge for people who visit five of the locations from the movie, but if merely visiting them isn’t enough, how about being flown to the Windy City for a chance to actually recreate your favorite scene?

The prize package includes two airline tickets, a hotel stay and museum passes. To enter, you’ll need to head on over to the Foursquare Facebook page and tell everyone which scene from the movie you’d like to recreate. Hurry up though, you only have till Friday June 4. Me? I’d love to drive down Lake Shore Drive in a 1961 Ferrari GT California.

And while you are at it – don’t forget to follow Gadling on Facebook and Foursquare!

(Photo from Flickr/ChicagoGeek)

Photo of the Day (9.20.09)

by Jeremy Kressmann on


Gadling first wrote about the secret pleasures of New York City’s Coney Island back in May. Brooklyn’s very own quirky seaside amusement area boasts a vintage rollercoaster, beach access and the annual Mermaid Parade. Coney Island is also a particularly “atmospheric” place, as Flickr user cmvoelkel captured in today’s shot. The park’s famous Wonder Wheel strikes an eerie silhouette against the fading pinks and purples of the setting sun. The shapes and textures of the fence and barbed wire add further visual intrigue.

Want your photo considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Upload your best shots here.

The World’s Biggest Ferris Wheel (For a While at Least…)

by Brett Atkinson on

I was a bit scared of ferris wheels when I was a kid, and actually didn’t go on one until I went to Vienna when I was in my early 20’s. Sad, I know, but since then I’ve made up for lost time by going on mega-wheels like the London Eye.

Now Singapore has announced plans for the world’s biggest ferris wheel. Opening in March 2008 it will be 165 metres high, slightly taller than the 160-metre high Star of Nanchang in Jiangxi, China, and considerably bigger than the 130-metre high London Eye.

Don’t count on the Singapore Flyer being the biggest for long though, because the same developers are looking at opening a 208-metre high circular attraction in time for the Beijing Olympics in August 2008.

I’m actually kind of glad the first ferris wheel I went on was at Vienna ‘s Prater amusement park. The 65-metre wheel played a starring role in one of my favourite movies, the terrific Before Sunrise starring Ethan Hawke and the luminous Julie Delpy.

Thanks to arjuna_zybcho on Flickr for the pic of the Prater.

China Opens 525-foot-high Ferris Wheel

by Karen Walrond on

From Yahoo!News.com:  China has just opened what it claims to be the world’s tallest ferris field in the south of the country.  Called the Star of Nanchang, it opened in a riverside park in the province of Jiangxi. 

As a point of reference, the new wheel is 82 feet taller than the London Eye, which the Guiness Book of World Records currently lists as the tallest ferris wheel.  The Star of Nanchang is currently waiting for its certification by Guinness as the new recordholder.