A closer look
Roller skates were introduced to the public in 1760 by an eccentric Belgian inventor named John Joseph Merlin, who decided to debut his creation by dramatically rolling into a lavish London masquerade party while playing the violin. Unfortunately, Merlin had spent all his time engineering the wheels and absolutely zero time figuring out how to implement a braking system or steering mechanism. His grand entrance abruptly concluded when he lost control, accelerated across the ballroom, and smashed violently into a massive, extremely expensive floor-to-ceiling mirror, destroying both the glass and his instrument. Thus, the noble history of wheeled transportation began exactly as it continues today, with an overconfident person showing off in front of a crowd right before wiping out spectacularly and injuring themselves for attention
