The first patented roller skate came in 1760 from Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin, who demonstrated it at a party in Huy while playing the violin. It was hard to steer and had no brake, so it failed to catch on. In 1863 James Plimpton of Massachusetts added a rocking skate on four wheels with independent axles, so skaters could turn by leaning. That design sparked rinkomania in the 1860s and 1870s. Rubber polymer wheels such as Krypto-Pro in the 1970s and 1980s made skating smoother and fashionable again.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.