“The Captain Wheel in outside of Washington, D.C., U.S.A. is decorated with 1.6 million LED lights that CHANGE COLOR to the beat of Music.”
National Geographic 5,000 Awesome Facts
This is a very pretty wheel, but it was a bit odd because in the book it is called the “Captain Wheel,” yet I could only find one similar named “The Capitol Wheel.”
Unlike the other wheels that I previously looked up, the Capitol Wheel didn’t have much drama in its origins or production. It was created by a Milton Peterson, who grew the inspiration from the Roue de Paris, a transportable Ferris Wheel that started in…Paris….and now travels world wide. Built by CHANCE RIDES of Wichita KS, the pieces of the Capitol Wheel were put on two barges and pushed by a tugboat down the Potomac River. It arrived at the National Harbor in Washington, D.C. on February 18, 2014. The 140 ton base and 42 Gondolas, each weighing 1500 lbs., was up and running in May 2014. Each gondola holds 8 people, with the exception of the 1 VIP gondola that services only 4 while riding in bucket leather seats with a glass floor beneath. The wheel goes around 1 1/2 rotations lasting 15 minutes while enjoying the view of the Arlington Cemetery, Washington Monument, the capitol along with DC, Baltimore, Virginia 180 feet in the air. Each gondola is equipped with Alexa and temperature controlled. Alexa gets to go everywhere these days I swear.
Sounds like a sweet ride.
The other thing that makes it stick out is that it is equipped with 16 million different colors of LED lights that pulse and change colors. 16 million different colors. How is that even possible?
That is all to write about Fact #7, not the most exciting Ferris wheel I’d say. 4,993 facts left.
CHARLEY WAFFLE 