Video of Coney Island rides from the 1930s and 1940s that would never fly today

There, lawn darts are legal again.

One litre of air at one atmosphere, with no container holding it.

I’m sure there is a way to kill someone with that, but I can’t think of it.

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Awesome. So hopefully oxygen won’t become outlawed. Until someone more creative in killing than us thinks of a way to make it work.

(edit) Sprinkle some anthrax spores in that litre of air, there you go. I mean, it’s usually not a gun that kills a person. It’s the bullets.

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I wasn’t trying to criticise, I was honestly wondering if there was some way that I was unaware of.

Think of it as being one of those old Sierra adventure puzzles that have ridiculous solutions, where anything obvious wouldn’t work for unknown reasons.

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i remember those centrifuge-type rides. they were a ton of fun. why aren’t the ones with those multiple spinning disks still a thing?? those look like lots of fun, and could probably be improved upon.

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One thing I can think of for the spinning discs is the gap between them could catch something, and I lack the engineering skill to think of a way to stop that from happening while still allowing free movement of the discs. But I agree, they look like fun to me too.

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yeah, i assume that’s why they aren’t done any more, but i was thinking that maybe with some new materials with a super slick/frictionless finish they could have a tight enough fit that maybe they wouldn’t catch many things, i don’t know… you’d think there must be SOME way those could be done and be safer.

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This is an old video, but I used to play on something almost identical in my local park as a kid in the '70s:

The ‘hat’ was a hollow wide cone, sitting over a narrower solid cone - giving it the freedom to spin and also sway. I used to climb to the top and sit astride it, it proper gives me the chills to think how mangled an arm or leg could have been had I made a careless move… :astonished:

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Those are in most of the playgrounds here, but the bottom bar is typically six or more get of the ground, so the kids have to dangle three or so feet off the ground by their arms while someone else gets them spinning.

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“Grandfathered” in ^^’.

Move that (uncompressed) liter of air really, really fast. =)

looks safe enough to me, you guys should totally try it when you time travel.

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I don’t think any of those “fun house for adults” “rides” were canceled for safety.

I expect they were canceled because drunk college kids + spinning floor disks = no one will take a job with your cleaning staff.

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Put just this in an empty, airtight room with any number of people and they’ll all die right quick.

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Luna Park in Sydney still has a bunch of ye olde carnival rides. The constant threat of mechanical collapse just adds to the fun. :slightly_smiling_face:

The Wild Mouse is small and slow compared to modern rollercoasters, but:

i) The carriages are built with the wheels set well back, enhancing the whiplash effect on the corners.

ii) The original design was intended to give you the impression that you were going to be flung into the harbour.

iii) It was built sixty years ago, and has not been maintained particularly well.

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Tell that to the assholes who will swing the seat carriages as hard as they can to get the whole line oscillating.

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Put one liter of air at 1ATM in someone’s lungs then move them up to 10,000 feet above sea level without allowing them to exhale.

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Re ski lifts: I’d bet a week’s pay that a lot fewer people have been injured riding the lift up the hill than have been injured skiing down it.

No doubt you’re correct, just as more people may have been injured in transit to Coney Island crossing chaotic streetcar and horse filled roads back in the day than they were on the rides. But still, I believe that future generations seeing archival footage of kids sitting in chairs suspended 50’ off the ground with no safety restraints whatsoever will surely wonder what the hell our generation was thinking.

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Oh I agree, the spinning discs look like fun… until anyone with hair longer than 3 inches takes a whirl!

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hey, no problem – just shave it off, like i do! haha

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