forse lo sanno già tutti ma io ho appena scoperto che le bici a+
piani nacquero per la manutenzione di lampioni a gas:
http://www.geocities.com/ratpatrolhq/Archives/Eiffel.html
Chicago's Tall Bike History
One hundred years ago, in the golden age of the bicycle, tallbikes
were a common sight in Chicago. When all the streets of the city were
lit by gaslight, the lamplighters made their way from pole to pole on
tall bicycles to repair and relight the gas mantles and replace the
glass globes from their high perches. When the highwheeler bicycle
was replaced by the safety, the lamplighters switched to specially
constructed tall bikes very similar to the ones we are familiar with
nowadays.
Of course, it wasn't long for the lamplighters to begin using their
bicycles for non-professional purposes. They held tall bike races and
stunts. And some attempted to outdo others with even taller bicycles.
And so we discover this enticing fragment and photo of the Eiffel
Tower Cycle in the volume Märkvärdigheter ur Naturen, Historien och
Lifvet, published in Chicago in 1899 and edited by J.G. Princell.
photo of the Eiffel Tower Cycle!!!!!
lux
SS il Sommo Ciclefice Graziano (Predielis) XVI
