June 1, 2012

Bike Tour This Saturday

Posted in Category Events

In honor of this Saturday's "Ohio City Bike Co-Op Social Ride to Cleveland-Area Crime Scenes," taking place from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (meet at the Co-Op at 1840 Columbus Rd), we have a collection of fun facts about bicycles and crime scenes. YAY BICYCLES!

BICYCLE FACTS:

Before the bicycle, a German baron named Karl von Drais invented a contraption called the "draisine," which had two wheels. It looked a lot like a bike, but it didn't have pedals, so to operate it you had to push your legs off of the ground. It's an important predecessor to the bicycle. But aren't you glad that bicycles have handbrakes and pedals now? I sure am!

As you probably know, the Wright brothers owned a bike repair shop in Dayton, Ohio. They used it to build their airplane in 1903.

Every year, 100 million bicycles are manufactured! That's 273,973 bikes a day!

The longest tandem bicycle ever made could seat 35 people. While not especially practical with a length of 67 feet, it certainly was a sight to see!

BONUS UNICYCLE FACT: Emerson Elementary School in Lakewood has a unicycle club. They make an annual appearance in the Fourth of July Parade. It's one of the most popular activities at the school.

CLEVELAND CRIME AND POLICE FACTS:

In 1924, the Cleveland Police Department founded the Women's Bureau of the Cleveland Police Dept. This was the only opportunity for women to serve as police officers. There was a law restricting the number of women in the force to 50 until 1973, when the ruke was repealed.

My personal favorite Cleveland area crime is the Daniel Kaber murder of 1919. He was stabbed 24 times. During the autopsy, they found a ridiculous amount of arsenic in his body. But that's not the interesting part. When police interrogated his wife, she said that she hired men to dress up as ghosts to drive the evil spirits out of his body. Four women were tried in this case. During the trial, his step-daughter cried when asked to testify against her mother. This girl, Marian McArdle, was in the company of a touring musical called "Pretty Baby" but was forced to leave in order to deal with all the business surrounding the murder trial.

MORE INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT BIKES:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/morestories/ten-things-about-bikes/

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/biking/weird-bicycle-facts-green.htm

FASCINATING ARTICLES ABOUT DANIEL KABER::

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0816F83D5A1B7A93CAA9178DD85F458285F9

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60C15FA3D5A1B7A93C6A8178DD85F458285F9

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F15F73D5A1B7A93CAA9178CD85F458285F9

By Kevin Ritter, SPACES Intern