Inventions on the move

They were named after their inventors. Can you name them?

1. This two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage was so popular that it became known as the "gondola of London" in the 19th century. It was a favorite of detective Sherlock Holmes. It was originally named "H - - - - - 's Patent Safety Cab" for its maneuverability. The last one disappeared from London streets in 1944, but you can still ride in one in Boston.

2. Today it's a more modest carnival attraction, often seating just two adults per car. But at the fairground of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 held in Chicago, each car held 40 passengers, and 1,440 people rode at a time. Not even Little Egypt, the first belly dancer in America, could outdraw this massive attraction conceived and built by a railroad and bridge engineer.

3. It was a majestic sight in the air, but proved a catastrophe when one caught fire and was destroyed in 1937 in Lakehurst, N.J. Its creator was a German count and Army officer who originally designed the lighter-than-air device for wartime use.

ANSWERS

(1) The Hansom cab, by English architect Joseph Aloysius Hansom (1803-82); (2) The Ferris Wheel, by George Washington Gale Ferris (1859-1896); (3) The Zeppelin, by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838 to 1917). Highly flammable hydrogen gas was used; modern lighter-than-air ships use nonflammable helium instead.