Seems to me that it would make sense to put little propellors on the wheel units of airplanes such that when the landgear was lowered, the propellors would begin spinning and a set of gears would cause the wheels to begin spinning.  The gearing should be such that when the plane hit the ground, the speed of the wheels would match the groundspeed of the plane.  This would bring an end to the jolt of landing and make the tires last a lot longer.

ID: 6676 -- Monday, August 30, 1993 at 7:38