Fanciful Velocipede of the Day: The Return of the Dandy Horse

In 1817, the Baron Karl Drais of Mannheim invented a device that would change the world. Drais had studied architecture and physics at the University of Heidelberg, and he wanted to create a machine that a man could ride and move with his own power. The result was a seat balanced between two wheels, which, if kept at a reasonable speed, would seemingly defy gravity and stay upright. Karl Drais had invented the Luftmaschine, otherwise known as the Dandy Horse.

Drais died in poverty, and his invention was eventually modified to produce what we recognize today as the bicycle. Like sharks, bicycles haven't evolved much. The two-wheeled, pedal-driven, chain-clicking, hand-braking bicycle is a universally recognized model of consistency. People have experimented with bicycles with one wheel, or three, or with no brakes at all, but the standard-issue bicycle prevails.