The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Young Adult (18-35)Accents
North American (US General American - GenAM)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
the ferris wheel quickly became the most popular attraction of the exposition. Thousands wrote it every day In the week beginning July 3rdris sold 61,395 tickets for a gross return of $30,697.50. The Exposition Company took about half leaving Ferris and operating profit for that one week of $13,948 equivalent today to about $400,000. There were still questions about the wheels, safety and unfounded stories circulated about suicides and accidents, including one that alleged that a frightened pug had leapt to its death from one of the cars windows. Not true, the ferris company said the story was the concoction of a reporter, short on news and long on invention, if not for the wheels, windows and iron grates. However, its record might have been different on one ride. A latent terror of heights, suddenly overwhelmed and otherwise peaceful man named wear it. He was fine until the car began to move. As it rose, he began to feel ill and nearly fainted. There was no way to signal the engineer below to stop the wheel where it's staggered and panic from one end of the car to the other, driving passengers before him like scared sheep. According to one account, he began throwing himself at the walls of the car with such power that he managed to bend some of the protective iron, the conductor and several male passengers tried to subdue him, but he shook them off and raced for the door in accord with the wheels operating procedures. The conductor had locked the door at the start of the ride where it shook it and broke its glass, but could not get it open as the car entered its descent, where it became calmer and laughed and sobbed with relief until he realized the wheel was not going to stop. It always made two full revolutions where it again went wild, and again the conductor and his allies subdued him, but they were growing tired. They feared what might happen if, where it escaped them structurally. The car was sound, but its walls, windows and doors had been designed merely to discourage attempts at self destruction, not to resist a human pile driver already, where it had broken glass and bent iron. A woman stepped up and unfastened her skirt. To the astonishment of all aboard, she slipped the skirt off and threw it over where its head then held it in place while murmuring gentle assurances. The effect was immediate where it became as quiet as an ostrich. A woman disrobing in public, a man with a skirt over his head. The marvels of the fair seemed endless