Thousands of these bicycles were dropped by parachute all over the UK as part of a German invasion plan during World War II. The theory was that the populace would be so distracted by trying to figure out how to fold the bicycle (which, in fact, was not physically possible) that they would not look up and notice the invading army. The bicycles are now quite rare, most having been torn apart or thown into blast furnaces by frustrated tinkerers. What happened to the invasion plan is not known.