Finding a welcome home in the growing toy niche ... to initially come up with low-friction wheel bearings (made of a material called Delrin), thin axles, and plastic or rubber tires that would ...

More than 100,000 parts went into Ferris’ wheel, notably an 89,320-pound axle that had to be hoisted onto two towers 140 feet in the air. Launched on June 21, 1893, it was a glorious success.