Bicycles—a boon to some, and a menace for many.
Since the modern bicycle’s invention in 1817 by German baron Karl von Drais—then known as the velocipede—people have been blaming the bicycle for whatever ails society, as the all-too-convenient contraption spread across the world.
As it gained popularity in the US and Europe, the bicycle was pointed to as the cause for declines in marriage rates, book sales–even a dreaded condition known as ‘bicycle face’.
“All the girl and a large proportion of the men who ride wheels in San Francisco are asking each other, “have I the bicycle face?”, read a Bay Area, California newspaper in the late 19th century.
As bicycles continue to plague our streets—while also providing a sustainable and healthy way to transport large numbers of people in every country on earth, of course—here’s 9 things that people have blamed on bicycles, courtesy of University of Calgary Instructor Paul Fairie.
1. A drop in marriage rates
“And now the bicycles are being blamed for the falling off in marriages. It is claimed that young men go off on their wheels and leave the young ladies to themselves. The bicycle is blamed for the cheap price of cattle and hogs and now has to bear the burden of scarcity of marriages.”
– The Kenney Gazette, 9 Jul 1897
2. A drop in book sales
“The bicycle is blamed by the Parisian publishers for the falling off in the sale of their books.”
-The London Church Weekly, 3 Sep 1897
3. A rise in cases of appendicitis
“Bicycle Blamed for Appendicitis: Washington Physician Claims Disease Is Result of Riding”
“A Washington physician says the bicycle is responsible for the prevalence of appendicitis at the present time. According to the doctor’s theory the appendicitis era began with the introduction of the bicycle. Commenting on this idea, the Medical Record remarks: “We may recall the sage observations made by a writer in one of the English medical journals two or three years ago, that the habit of smoking cigarets and the prevalence of appendicitis had both increased during the last two decades, and consequently it was reasonable to suppose that the former was the direct cause of the latter–or the latter of the former, we forget which.”
– The Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr 1905
4. A decline in furniture sales
“The Bicycle Blamed”
“Now the furniture makers are blaming the bicycle for the dullness in their trade. They say that people who own wheels care very little how their homes are furnished during the summer months. They are not at home to enjoy these esthetic surroundings which were once so dear. What does a devoted wheelman care for a new bookcase when he has no time to read? Are not his books the open volumes of nature in her charming moods? What does Juliet care for a sofa built for two when Romeo has his tandem? Home has become but a sleeping place, and the tired wheelman isn’t a bit particular what sort of a bed he sleeps in. No doubt the furniture makers are right.”
– The Arizona Republic, 30 May 1897
5. The rise of women smokers
“Noble English Lady with a Pipe — Bicycle Blamed for It All London”
“The Daily Telegraph in an article recording the enormous increase in the number of women smokers says: “The great middle class is smoking as unconstrainedly as the aristocracy, and the workingwoman is fast following. One well-known lady of title is sometimes seen driving in the Ripley Road with a brier-wood pipe in her mouth. “Inquiries made among doctors, tobacconists and others, show that the bicycle is responsible for much, as, with wheel parties, has arisen a freedom of manner unknown in the presence of chaperons.”
– The New York Times, 6 Mar 1898
6. The decline of grain consumption
“BICYCLES BLAMED”
“Lake Men Say They Lessen Grain Consumption”
– Buffalo Courier, 1 Jul 1895
7. The demise of a religious society
“The Bicycle Causes a Christian Endeavor Society to Disband Bicycle riding is said to have lately caused the disbandment of a Christian Endeavor society in Passaic, NJ. A large number of the members, including several of the officers, have recently learned to ride wheels, and since then, it is alleged, have neglected their duties to the society to such an extent that no one is left to manage its affairs.[…] A meeting of the society was held the other night, and only a few members attended. It was the annual election of the officers, but no one would allow his name to be put up. “Let’s disband the society until winter,” suggested one of the members who recently purchased a wheel. [..] “It’s too bad,” said a former president, “but so many of our members have become so infatuated with their wheels that they had not time to take any interest in the society, and we have to give it up.”
– The Columbus Republic, 6 Jul 1897
8. A drop in trans-Atlantic travel
“And now the bicycle is blamed for a great falling off in trans-Atlantic travel.”
– The Scranton Times-Tribune, 8 Jun 1897
9. ‘Bicycle face”
“The Bicycle Face Opinions as to the Cause of the Worried “Bike Expression”
“It has been definitely decided by both medical and lay authorities that there is such a thing as “bicycle face” and all the girls and a large proportion of the men who ride wheels in San Francisco are asking each other “Have I the bicycle face?” Just what the bicycle face is and just how it shows itself is somewhat indefinite, but a clever rider has described it as being “the sentimental side of that tired feeling.” It is yearning, anxious, hopeful, fearful, exhausted, incomplete and generally dissatisfied. There are as many reasons for the “bicycle face” as there are shades of expression in the same. The most modish bicycle suit when worn by a woman is ground for the anxious expression and insecurity but adds force thereto. “
– The San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Jul 1895
Lead Photo via Library of Congress, published in Bain News Service, 1912