THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL — NOVEMBER 22, 1896
Genius Makes It Possible for a Bicyclist to Ride With Safety Under the Water.
Several Genius has now made it possible for a bicyclist to ride under water. We have had plans for wheelmen to ride to and from the clouds and to ride underground in cycle tunnels.
There have been bicycle railways and bicycle boats, but Reuben H. Plass of 508 Lafayette avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y., an inventor, is constructing a machine which makes submarine wheeling an accomplished fact. The Practicability of the invention has been demonstrated by means of a model, and the workings of this model have been such as to attract the admiration and indorsement of every practical cyclist who has seen it. Not only do the cyclists praise it, but the submarine divers believe it is destined to be of the greatest use to them.
All men of brains agree that this is an age of progress and that the bicycle is one of the most practical instruments of advancement. This invention proves the truth of the latter belief, and it goes without saying that the former is correct. To those who are familiar with what is known as deep-sea diving the utility of the submarine bicycle is plainly apparent. Under the present circumstances it is necessary for the diver to sink directlys to the bottom before he can begin operations. With the new contrivance he can pedal about at any desired distance above the bottom and take a birdseye view as it were of the scene of operation. Thus it will be seen that the submarine bicycle, from a business standpoint, is a very excellent thing indeed.
