penny-farthings?

Comments

• ms71 Posts: 1,576 ✭✭✭✭✭

  July 20, 2014 3:58AM

  The penny-farthing name is of fairly obvious derivation, the relative sizes of the cycle's two wheels compared to the relative sizes of the British penny and farthing (quarter-penny) coins of the period. Surprising that they didn't mention it in their explanation.

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• ambro51 Posts: 13,945 ✭✭✭✭✭

  July 20, 2014 3:59AM

  .....I watched a Victorian reenactor lose it on one of those and break his jawbone and shear off part of his tounge, together with a few teeth. I could not believe it but there were people there Laughing, they thought it was all an act. Uh huh.

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• jonathanb Posts: 3,752 ✭✭✭✭✭

  July 20, 2014 4:56AM

  
  
  

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• ricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

  July 20, 2014 5:02AM

  Charmy needs one of those for her display of penny oddities.... Cheers, RickO

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• lordmarcovan Posts: 43,840 ✭✭✭✭✭

  July 20, 2014 6:18AM

  Count on jonathanb to come up with an fun and fascinating exonumic item which is not only incredibly cool, but which also PERFECTLY nails the definition.
  
  
  
  You can't get a much more on-topic reply than that.

  
  
  

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• ProofArtworkonCircs Posts: 4,223 ✭

  July 20, 2014 1:32PM

  The penny - farthing coins understate the ratio between the front and rear wheels.
  AS a youth my father used one these bikes for transportation. He said the accepted method of going down hills was to drape your legs over the handlebars.
  That way, you would be thrown clear in case of a crash.

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