Cable Car Day is celebrated every year on January 17. The day celebrates Andrew Smith Hallidie getting the patent for the cable car in 1871. It is believed that Hallidie saw horses struggle to pull cars up the steep hills of San Francisco, and worried about the news of people falling and dying. He invented a system where strong cables would move the cars up and down the hill.

Today, San Francisco is the last American city to still run actual cable cars! The Cable Car Museum in San Francisco is also a tourist attraction. In other American cities, you will find electric streetcars.