TRIVIA TODAY - Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Greetings Infomaniacs,

Today's fun facts are about bicycles! I am not a huge fan of riding a bike, mostly because I am a very uncoordinated person. Growing up, it took me awhile to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels, and even then I didn't feel entirely comfortable. I prefer having both feet on the ground!

Enjoy!
Melissa

Questions? Comments? Email Melissa

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine."

HINT: (1939-), second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies.

RANDOM TIDBITS
In 1817, Karl von Drais, a German baron, invented a horseless carriage that would help him get around faster. The two-wheeled, pedal-less device was propelled by pushing your feet against the ground, The machine became known as the "draisine," and led to the creation of the modern-day bicycle.

The term "bicycle" was not introduced until the 1860s, when it was coined in France to describe a new kind of two-wheeler with a mechanical drive.

Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who built the first flying airplane, operated a small bike repair shop in Dayton, Ohio. They used their workshop to build the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Fred A. Birchmore, 25, circled the globe by bicycle in 1935. The entire trip, through Europe, Asia, and the United States, covered forty thousand miles. He pedaled about 25,000 miles. The rest was traveled by boat. He wore out seven sets of tires.

Americans use their bicycles for less than one percent of all urban trips. Europeans bike in cities a lot more often-in Italy 5 percent of all trips are on bicycle, 30 percent in the Netherlands, and seven out of eight Dutch people over age 15 have a bike.

Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX), an extreme style of bicycle track racing, became a sport in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Maris Strombergs, of Latvia, received the gold medal for Men's BMX, and Anne-Caroline Chausson, from France, took home the gold in the first Women's BMX Olympic event.

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine."

ANSWER: John Howard.

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