The London Eye is a Ferris wheel, named after George Ferris Jr who built the original for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. However, there have been ‘pleasure wheels’ at fairs since the seventeenth century, made of wood and turned by strong men. Some believe that the mythological idea of the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ may be based on the pleasure wheel.Launched in 2000, the London Eye is the largest cantilevered (attached only on one side) wheel in the world, though the High Roller in Las Vegas is the tallest. At 135m (442ft), London’s wheel is tall enough to see Windsor (on a clear day) from one of the 32 capsules, each of which holds 25 people and takes 30 minutes to go full circle. If such heights frighten you, there’s a smaller version of the London Eye . . . at Legoland Windsor! This is the capital’s most popular paid-for activity. At least 5000 people have chosen to propose marriage in mid-air since it opened, and another 500 people have actually been married in a capsule