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The Origins of 15 Delightful Carnival Rides

Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create enjoyment.

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The Origins of 15 Delightful Carnival Rides

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  1. THEORIGINSOF 15 Delightful Carnival Rides

  2. 1. FERRIS WHEEL TheFerriswheelmadeitsdebutatthe1893World’sColumbianExpositionin Chicago. Atleastthat’swhatGeorgeWashingtonGaleFerris, Jr. alwayssaid. One yearearlier, WilliamSomersdesignedandbuiltthreewoodenwheels—each measuring50feetindiameter—inNewYorkandNewJersey. Bothmenoweda debttothesimilar, yetawkwardlynamed, wooden “pleasurewheels” inventedin 17thcenturyBulgaria. 2. BUMPER CARS Electriccarsmayseemlikeamodernadvancement, butwe’vebeendrivingthem—andmore importantly, crashingthem—foracentury. There's somedisputeoverwhoinventedtheroad-raging carnivalfavorite, butonethingallscholarscan agreeon: howdifficultearlyversionsweretosteer. 3. CAROUSEL Carouselswithwoodenhorseswerefirstusedtogivehorsebackridinglessonsto TurkishandArabiancavalrymembers. WhencrusadersreturnedtoEurope, they broughtthedevicebackwiththem. Thespinningattractionbecameespecially popularinFrance, where17thcenturyriderstriedtopierceatargetwhilemoving athighspeed. Thepowersource? Actualhorses!

  3. 4. THE ROLLERCOASTER AlthoughthefirstpatentwenttoLaMarcusThompsonin1885, hewasn’tthefirst persontomakearollercoaster. Modernrollercoastersdescendedfrom “Russian Mountains,” wintersledridesthatwerepopularin17thcenturySt. Petersburg. (Situatedonicyhills, thesledstoppedoutat200feet!). Meanwhile, inthestates, aPennsylvanianminingcompanyconstructeda “gravityrailroad” in1827tomove coal. Butonslowworkdays, theychargedthrill-seekerstotakeitforaspin. 5. TUNNEL OF LOVE Unmarriedcouplesofthelate19thcenturyneededaplacetocanoodleinpublic. Love — or, atleasthormones — foundawaywiththeboomofso-calledcarnival "darkrides." Ascoupleswoundthroughthetunneloflovebywaterortracks, they weretreatedtoalternatingmomentsofromance (tosetthemood) andfright (to encourageanarmovertheshoulder). 6. THE MECHANICAL BULL Untilthe1970s, mechanicalbullswerestrictlyusedtotraincowboysandrodeo competitors. Earlypracticebullswerebasicallylargebarrelssuspendedfromfour ropes (peoplecouldjostlethebarrelbytuggingontheropesorusingapulley mechanism.) Themechanicalversion, however, waspopularizedbyaTexas businessmanwhowantedtomakehisbarsmorepopular.

  4. 7. THE WHIP Patentedin1914, thefirstwhipwasmadeforConeyIsland. Theattraction—which tamelyslingsridersaroundanoval—israrenowadays, butyoucanfindoriginal modelsscatteredaroundsomeold-schoolparks. 8. THE WIPEOUT Thegiant, revolvingridethatmovesaround, up, anddowninawave-likefashionwas originallyaGermanattractionknownasthe Trabant. Americaninnovatorsbroughtabigger andbetterversionstateside, dubbeditThe Wipeout, andtherestishistory ... aslongas you're48" tall. 9. TILT-A-WHIRL Theridethatlaunchedathousand stomachachessprangfromthemindof woodworkerandwaterslidemakerHerbertW.  Sellnerin1926. ItmadeitsdebutattheMinnesotaStateFaironeyearlater. The storygoesthatSellnerexperimentedwiththeride’sdesignbyplacingachairon hiskitchentable, makinghissonsitinit, andthenrockingthetable. Therideis nowmanufacturedinTexas.

  5. 10. THE SCRAMBLER TheTwist. TheGeeWhizzer. TheGrasscutter. ThatwhichwecallaScramblerhas manynames, becausenamingitTheRideThatLooksLikeIt'sGoingToCollide IntoOtherCars, AHHHHHH! istoocumbersome. Thisfrightening/funridewasfirst producedintheUKin1959. Sincethen, eachdecadehasgivenitanewnameand patternofmotion, butthethrill'sthesame. 11. LOG FLUME Themodernlogflumehasbeenaroundsincetheearly20thcentury, albeitin moresedateversions. Oldmillridesusedtrackstoguideboatsthroughdark tunnelsandoverafewbunnyhills. Butasrollercoastersbecamewilder, thoseold millrideshadonedirectiontogo: wetter. Thesplash-intensivemodernversions firstbegansurfacingintheearly1960s.

  6. 12. WAVE SWINGER It’seasytoimaginesomeonelookingatacarouselandthinkingitmaybetame. Whatifwetookoutthehorses, replacedthemwithswings, andraisedthewhole thingafewhundredfeet? Nowwe’retalking! Althoughswingrideswere popularizedinthe1970s, they’vebeenaroundfordecades. Postcardsof California’sIdoraParkshowawaveswingerasearlyas1908! 13. SHOOT THE CHUTE Peoplehavebeengettingsoakedontheseflat-bottomboatssince1884. J.P. Newburginventedonethatranalongagreasedwoodentrackdownthesideofa hillinRockIsland, Illinois. Itsplash-landedintheRockRiverandwastuggedback toshorebyanattendant. It’sbeenanamusementparkstaple—andagreatwayto cooloffonsummerdays—eversince.

  7. 14. HELTER SKELTER FirstseenattheUK'sBlackpoolPleasure Beachin1906, therideisahightowerwith acurlingslidenestledagainstit. Customers climbstairsinsidethetowerbeforeriding downtothebottom. 15. LOOP-O-PLANE Inventedin1933, theLoop-O-Planeride consistsoftwo “plane” compartmentson eithersideofatowerthatactas counterweightsastheylooparoundone another. Itwasoriginallyaflightsimulator – theCubangovernmentevenorderedsometo traintheirpilots – butitdidn’treallytakeoff untilciviliansjumpedinforaquick, funride.

  8. Article Source HTTP://MENTALFLOSS.COM/ Image Source HTTPS://WWW.PLANETENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU/

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