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The world's first bicycle: how a volcanic eruption started a new craze

On the 12th June 1817 a nobleman was seen whizzing down a main road in Southern Germany on a curious wooden vehicle. This eccentric chap was prolific inventor Karl Drais on his new 'Laufmaschine'. The world's first bicycle was about to cause quite a stir!

Depiction of Drais on his maiden voyage, an 8.6 mile round trip which took him just over an hour!

JACK OF ALL TRADES

German aristocrat and amateur inventor Karl Drais debuted his contraption on an 8½ mile tour around his hometown. However, this wasn't his first vehicular creation... By 1817, he had already invented 2 four-wheeled human-powered vehicles, which sadly did not take off. After the Laufmaschine, Drais also went on to create the first meat grinder, an early stenograph, the draisine handcar, and the first typewriter with a keyboard. A true Jack of all trades!

Portrait of Karl Drais (1820).

HORSES AND THE YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER

In the early 19th century, horses were everywhere. They were the perfect taxis, farm vehicles, and even combatants in the Napoleonic Wars. As transport went, they were cutting-edge! So why did Karl Drais stray so far from the norm? To understand his drive to create a revolutionary horseless vehicle, we have to begin with a volcanic eruption in Indonesia...

1816 would become famous as the 'Year Without a Summer' when the eruption of Mt Tambora led to severe temperature drops and catastrophic weather events. This unprecedented climate crisis resulted in global crop failures and devastating famines. As for the horses, many starved or were eaten in desperation. Since thousands of horses had already died during the Napoleonic Wars, there was now a real shortage. The transport industry was in dire straits.

The miserable weather even kept Mary Shelly indoors and inspired her to tell the story of Frankenstein!

A MODERN MACHINE 

Our favourite German inventor had a solution. The Laufmaschine: a two-wheeled, self-propelled horseless vehicle. Patented in 1818 using the term 'velocipede', this newfanlged contraption was a precursor to the modern bicycle. However, unlike our familiar pedalled variety, velocipede riders pushed using their feet, much like a child's balance bike. The age of mechanised personal transport had arrived!
 
Original patent image. The vehicle went by many other names: pedestrian curricle, swift walker, draisienne and even hobby/dandy horse!

DANDY HORSING AROUND

Velocipede mania spread across Europe, and the vehicle gained a reputation as a fashionable accessory for 19th-century 'dandies'. This association even gave it the derogatory nickname 'dandy horse'! Whilst this ruffled the feathers of many velocipede-owners, nothing could put the brakes on the craze's momentum. There were eventually so many riders alongside horse-drawn carriages that roads became congested and dangerous. Swerving the traffic jams, the dandies took to the pavements. Unfortunately, their wild pedestrian-dodging resulted in many dandy horse-related accidents. This was such as big issue at the time that authorities in Germany, Britain, America, and even Calcutta actually banned its use, ending the velocipede vogue.

Jane Austen died the same year as the Laufmaschine's release. If she had lived longer, any one of these fellows could've been a Mr Darcy!

A CAMEO ON THE SILVER SCREEN

After the Laufmaschine was banned, it became overshadowed by other velocipedes including the penny farthing and other forerunners to the modern bicycle. Despite this, Drais' 'running machine' did make an appearance in Buster Keaton's 1923 silent comedy Our Hospitality. In the film, Keaton cruises the vehicle downhill until he is forced to stop and give way to carriages. A disgruntled sheriff considers the dandy horse a pesky contraption, grumbling "this is gettin' to be a dangerous crossin". Sharing a century-old complaint, it seems some things never change!

Keaton was unable to obtain a vintage Laufmaschine and so commissioned a replica from an original drawing. He later donated it to the Smithsonian Museum.

In some ways, the controversial nature of the dandy horse in 1818 is reminiscent of discussions about e-scooters today. Each new fad will always have its critics and champions, but one thing's for certain - transport technology will always be on the move!

Until next time,

The Anoraks

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