A brand new solar-operated ferris wheel was introduced tonight to the Santa Monica Pier. According to the news, there were hundreds of people lining up for a free ride until midnight. All those that stood in line, but didn’t get to experience the 130 ft above ocean view before closing, got a rain check. What happened to the old wheel? It was sold on Ebay over a month ago for roughly $50,000 (+ $135,000 for the base sold separately + shipping). LA Times revealed that the winning bidder is a real estate developer and the son of a former Oklahoma City mayor, Humphreys. The auction attracted close to 10,000 watchers and 400,000 pageviews. Half of the proceeds were donated to California’s Special Olympics.