The Museum of RetroTechnology has an amazing collection of pictures and drawings of motorized monowheels. These one-wheeled vehicles (the driver was placed inside the wheel) evolved from pedal-powered monocycles at the end of the 19th century. They became sort of a wet dream for boffins during the first decennia of the 20th century.
Propeller
Some wheels had very powerful motors and were plainly frightening – especially the ones that were driven by an aeroplane propeller (picture above). The technology (luckily) never became more than a curiosity, although several attempts were made to commercialise it on a larger scale.
Keeping the disc in balance and steering it in the right direction was too much of a challenge. Adding more wheels (like in motorcycles and cars) turned out to be the only future for road transport. Some did not give up on making things complicated, though – witness the efforts to build a gyrocar, an automobile on two wheels that was balanced by a stabilizing mechanism. Patents for motorwheels continued to be filed until today, and the vehicles are still being built by enthusiasts. (Via: lifeislikethat)
KDD
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- Sailrockets & kiteboats.
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