Describe Connections in a Sequence Text: Roller-Skating

Roller-skating began more than 250 years ago in England. But early skates only went straight forward in one direction. Skaters could not turn or stop. This made skating very dangerous. Early skates were in-line skates. This means the skates’ wheels were in a straight line at the center.

The first skating story dates back to 1743. An actor in a London theater skated onto the stage wearing shoes with wheels. No one knows who invented those skates.

Next, in 1760, Jean-Joseph Merlin, an inventor from Belgium, made his own in-line skates. He wore them to a party. At the party, he could not turn or slow down. Merlin crashed into a mirror and got hurt.

In 1819, a Frenchman named Monsieur Petibled invented some new in-line skates with three wheels. They were made of wood and leather. Petibled’s skates had the same problems as the ones that came before.

Finally, in 1863, an American named James L. Plimpton invented a new type of skate. It had four wheels, one on each corner of the skate. On these skates, skaters could turn corners by leaning to one side or the other. Plimpton opened the first skating rink where people could roller-skate together. He is known as the father of modern roller-skating.