A bicycle is a pedal-driven land vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame one in front of the other. First introduced in 19th century Europe, it evolved quickly into its current design. With over one billion in the world today, bicycles provide the principal means of transportation in many regions and a popular form of recreation in others. The bicycle has had considerable historical impact, in both the cultural and industrial realms. In its early years, bicycle construction drew on pre-existing technologies, while more recently bicycle technology has contributed in turn to other, newer areas. Beyond recreation and transportation, bicycles have been adapted for use in many occupations, in the military, and in sports and entertainment as well. A recurring theme in bicycling has been the tension between bicyclists and drivers of motor vehicles, each of whom argue for their fair share of the world's roadways.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1854: Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to American trade. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Perry_%28naval_officer%29)

1889: The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower)

1903: New Zealander inventor Richard Pearse reportedly flew in one of the first flying machines. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pearse)

1917: The Danish West Indies became the U.S. Virgin Islands after the United States paid Denmark US$25 million for the Caribbean islands. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Virgin_Islands)

1930: Hollywood movie studios instituted the Production Code to avoid government censorship. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_Code)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Good sense is of all things in the world the most equally distributed, for everybody thinks he is so well supplied with it, that even those most difficult to please in all other matters never desire more of it than they already possess." -- René Descartes (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes)