Although George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. patented the Ferris wheel he built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the vertical wheel ride dates back to the human-powered "pleasure wheels" invented in Bulgaria in the 17th century. The first Ferris wheel had a capacity of 60 riders, had 36 buckets with swiveling seats and was 264 feet (80 meters) in diameter. These days, the technology has blossomed into something with little relation to Ferris's invention — in fact, many of the larger modern wheels are called "observation wheels" because they're not meant to give the rider a fast thrill, but rather a breathtaking 360-degree view of their surroundings. Here's a look at the 10 tallest examples standing in the world today.

Ain Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

High Roller, Las Vegas, Nevada

Singapore Flyer, Singapore

Star of Nanchang, Nanchang, China

Bailang River Bridge Ferris Wheel, Weifang, China

London Eye, London, England

Bay Glory, Shenzhen, China

Sky Dream, Taichung, Taiwan

Redhorse Osaka Wheel, Osaka, Japan

The Wheel at ICON Park, Orlando, Florida

The tallest Ferris wheel in the world is the Ain Dubai, located in the Dubai Marina. Also known as the Dubai Eye, the attraction opened in 2021. This behemoth of an observation wheel is 820 feet (250 meters) tall — three times as large as Ferris's wheel, and 25 percent taller than the Eiffel Tower. It's capable of carrying 1,750 passengers on a single rotation, and some of the capsules have private bars and can serve dinner for 40. One rotation of Ain Dubai takes 38 minutes, and you can even have a birthday party or a wedding in one of the capsules!

Las Vegas has many over-the-top experiences, and the High Roller on the Vegas strip is no exception. At 550 feet (168 meters) tall, it debuted in 2014 as the tallest Ferris wheel in the world and held the record for seven years until it was superseded by the Ain Dubai. The High Roller is predictably glitzy with 28 rotating glass pods that can each hold 40 passengers, for a total carrying capacity of 1,120. And in case you get bored of the view, each cabin is decked out with eight flat screen televisions.

The Singapore Flyer opened in downtown Singapore April 15, 2008. The giant wheel stands at 541 feet (165 meters) tall and stands beside a three-story terminal building. Each of its 28 air-conditioned capsules can hold 28 passengers. It was the world's tallest observation wheel until the High Roller in Las Vegas came along six years after it opened.

A few months after opening in 2008, the Singapore Flyer changed directions — after much consultation, feng shui masters convinced the operators to make the wheel rotate toward the city's financial district to bring good fortune.

Supplanted as the world's tallest Ferris wheel by the Singapore Flyer, the Star of Nanchang stands at 525 feet (160 meters) tall and is located in Nanchang, China, the capital of Jiangxi Province. Its 60 coaches can carry eight passengers each, and it's rather slow for its size — it takes 30 minutes to make a full revolution, allowing the passengers at the bottom of the wheel to exit the ride without stopping the entire wheel each time.

The world's largest spokeless Ferris wheel, the Bailang River Bridge Ferris wheel in Weifang, Shandong, China, is unusual in that the body of the wheel is stationary, and the 36 cars that carry 10 passengers each rotate around a lattice-patterned scaffolding. Measuring 475 feet (145 meters) tall, it's among the tallest wheels in the world, and an added bonus is a view of the Bailang River.

The London Eye, or Millennium Wheel, opened in 2000 on the banks of the Thames River in London to much fanfare as it was, at the time, the largest cantilevered Ferris wheel ever built. It was meant to be a temporary part of the London skyline, but nobody wanted to take it down once it was up. At 443 feet (135 meters) tall and resembling a huge spoked bicycle wheel, newer observation wheels are much bigger, but the London Eye remains very popular — in fact, after all these years it's still the most visited tourist attraction in the United Kingdom.

The London Eye contains 32 sealed cars that hold 25 passengers each. They are numbered one through 33; there is no No. 13.

The stunning Bay Glory cantilevered observation wheel opened in 2021. Located in Shenzhen, China, the observation wheel has 28 capsules, each of which can hold 25 passengers. At 420 feet (128 meters) tall, the Bay Glory is the fourth largest cantilevered wheel in the world.

The largest Ferris wheel in Taiwan is the 413-foot (126-meter) Sky Dream, with 60 cars that hold eight passengers a piece. Sky Dream originally opened in 2001 in Fukuoka, Japan, but was dismantled in 2010 and sold to the Taiwanese Lihpao Land theme park, then opened in its current incarnation in 2017.

Japan's tallest Ferris wheel is the 404-foot (123-meter) Redhorse Osaka Wheel, which stands over a giant mall in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has 72 passenger cabins with transparent floors to make the experience a little extra nerve-wracking.

Orlando, Florida, has all kinds of tourist attractions, so The Wheel at ICON Park, the tallest Ferris wheel on the East Coast might sometimes be overlooked. This 400-foot (122-meter) wheel is taller than the Statue of Liberty, with 30 viewing pods that hold 15 people each, affording a bird's-eye view of downtown Orlando.