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Bicycle Girl
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History
The Draisienne, Laufmaschine, or dandy horse was the first human means of transport to use only two wheels in tandem and was invented by the German Baron Karl von Drais. It is regarded as the forerunner of the modern bicycle and was introduced by Drais to the public in Mannheim in summer 1817 and in Paris in 1818. Its rider sat astride a wooden frame supported by two in-line wheels and pushed the vehicle along with his/her feet while steering the front wheel.
The first mechanically-propelled 2-wheel vehicle was built by Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith, in 1839. He is also associated with the first recorded instance of a cycling traffic offence, when a Glasgow newspaper reported in 1842 an accident in which an anonymous "gentleman from Dumfries-shire... bestride a velocipede... of ingenious design" knocked over a little girl in Glasgow and was fined five shillings.
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