Why isn't the London Eye a Ferris wheel?

[CalmCalmCalm]

Can anyone tell me? I remember someone telling me this once but now I can't remember why and I think it is quite a pedantic distinction.

[MrsBadger]

According to Wiki is is a Ferris wheel, they just choose to call it an 'observation wheel' instead

[CalmCalmCalm]

Hi Mrs Badger. I Googled, fully expecting to find the answer straight away from lots of pedantic engineering types blogging about how they hate it when, etc. I couldn't find anything except people saying "rubbish, it is so a Ferris wheel". I was sure that there was some technical reason why it shouldn't, correctly, be called a Ferris wheel. I remember being corrected by someone but it was pre-babies and I seem to have lost the part of my brain where this was stored. That is if I didn't make the whole conversation up in the first place!

[WigWamBam]

Apparently it's not a Ferris wheel "for three reasons, firstly that its capsules are enclosed, secondly that they are positioned on the outside of the wheel and thirdly that the whole structure is supported by an A-Frame from one side only."

[WigWamBam]

More Google hits here, if you've a mind to look at them.

[CalmCalmCalm]

Thank you WigWamBam! Apparently my Google skills leave a little to be desired