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Dangerous Play (Playgrounds; Carnivals; Amusement Parks; Etc.)

EnolaGaia said:
Found it ... The playground hut-shaped thingie in the earlier posted photo is the "Earth Tone Barrel Of Fun" (Model 808) marketed by a company named "Miracle." The Bicentennial logo in the lower right hand corner indicates this catalog page dates to circa 1975 - 1976.

And yes - the central "barrel" is designed to rotate, making it a sort of hamster wheel for kids. There are numerous such hamster-wheel playground items that seem to still be marketed to this day.

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Years ago our company summer party had a similar revolving barrel (possibly even motorised; the memory is hazy) in among loads of fairground rides, dodgems etc. One of my good friends spent a long time 'enjoying' it in a somewhat inebriated state.

He was absolutely covered in bruises the next day. Looked like he'd been in a boxing ring!

Happy days indeed!
 
EnolaGaia said:
I haven't (yet) been able to locate information on the example above called "Barrel of Fun", but ...

Here's another piece of playground equipment called "Barrel of Fun" marketed in the 1930s that seems even more dangerous.

View attachment 55428
SOURCE:
Hill-Standard Co. catalog of playground equipment (1932)
https://archive.org/details/HillStandardCo/page/n27/mode/2up​
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There was something similar to this in Firs Park in Leigh when I was a youngster. OT has handled to hold so you could run on top of it.
 
cycleboy2 said:
Years ago our company summer party had a similar revolving barrel (possibly even motorised; the memory is hazy) in among loads of fairground rides, dodgems etc. One of my good friends spent a long time 'enjoying' it in a somewhat inebriated state.

He was absolutely covered in bruises the next day. Looked like he'd been in a boxing ring!

Happy days indeed!
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I had to rescue my eldest from one of the motorised ones when he was about 4. It was in a funhouse at a travelling funfair.

I didn't come off very well and was black and blue afterwards. LOL
 
RE: Tyre Sampson death (Florida; March 2022)

MorningAngel said:
‘A teenager who fell to his death from a 430ft high Florida theme park ride may have been to heavy to go on the attraction.’
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Update ... The official autopsy results have been released. They confirm Tyre Sampson exceeded the ride's weight limit by 97 pounds - meaning the oversized teen shouldn't have been allowed on the ride in the first place.
Autopsy: Teen who fell from Florida amusement park ride exceeded weight limit

An autopsy report released by the Medical Examiner in Orange County, Florida, determined that 14-year-old Tyre Sampson exceeded the weight limit of a ride he fell from in March at ICON Park.

Tyre, of St. Louis, died March 24 of blunt force trauma after falling more than 70 feet from the FreeFall ride at the amusement park, the autopsy report confirmed, ruling the death an accident. ...

The report, released Monday, confirmed that Tyre weighed 383 pounds, exceeding the ride's 287-pound weight limit by nearly 100 pounds. The report described multiple injuries, including a fractured jaw, broken arm, broken leg and fractured ribs, as well as lacerations and hemorrhaging to Tyre's head, neck and extremities.

"This is just another painful, powerful confirmation of the unnecessary and tragic death that Tyre suffered," Kim Wald, an attorney for the family said ... "So this medical examiner's report confirms that Tyre was 97 pounds over the maximum requirement and he never, never should have been able to be on that ride in the first place." ...

An investigation found that manual adjustments made to the ride harness led to the teen's death. The adjustments allowed the harness-to-restraint opening to be almost double that of the normal restrain opening range, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried said in April. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/06/14/Tyre-Sampson-amusement-park-autopsy/6591655225088/
 
That's really heavy for that age, so, are the rides now going to have a set of scales before you can get on a ride so is clears the owners of the rides, gonna be some complaints there, wonder if the parents of the kid will sue because the ride operator couldn't guess the kids wait, altho it should have been apparent, should it not, altho the alternative to turning him away was a gob full of threats from the said parents, can't win.
 
Shady said:
... wonder if the parents of the kid will sue ...
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They've already retained an attorney and indicated they're going to pursue legal action. Check the full article to which I linked ...
 
MrRING said:
This vintage flying cars attraction takes place in a giant faux barrel ...
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Some miscellaneous notes about the Flying Cars ride at Riverview (Chicago) ...

The Flying Cars loop ride was invented by a German named George Kock. I haven't found any description that specifies the company that manufactured the apparatus. The ride was installed and opened to the public in 1954. The accidents that caused it to be closed down apparently happened in the 1960s.

There was records of a second, double drum flying cars ride being built for Conklin’s Carnivals, but scant records exist of that model or any other rides. ...
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SOURCE: https://www.crazyandco.uk/2021/03/06/weird-carnival-rides-the-flying-cars/

The Flying Cars was an attraction at Riverview Park in Chicago, Illinois, that was introduced in 1954.

The attraction consisted of a barrel with a track inside for cars to ride freewheeling. The cars were held onto the drum by a rail and floating clamp system. As the drum would spin, the single person cars would follow the track and eventually begin to go upside down. The drum steadily increased its speed and the cars would let it roll beneath their wheels as they followed the track. The cars' brakes were then applied causing them to quickly accelerate up to the speed of the drum's surface, around 30 mph (48 km/h). The operator of Flying Cars would spin the drum for two minutes and then release the brakes causing the cars to come to a complete stop while the drum slowed to a halt. In 1966, the four car ride overturned on the first embankment, seriously injuring several riders. There was also a fatality when someone failed to properly fasten their safety belt and was killed after falling out. ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Cars

This photo / article was published in LIFE magazine in 1957.

RiverviewFlyingCars-LIFE-1957.jpg
 
The reference to the rider that was killed having failed to secure a safety belt (singular) got me to wondering how the Flying Cars riders were strapped into their seats.

I finally located a photo illustrating the safety belt arrangement in the Flying Cars ride. If you look closely you'll see there were actually two belts holding the rider in place - one upper belt around the belly / waist and one lap belt down around the hips.

FlyingCars-Riverview-Belts.jpg
 
A 14-year-old girl died, and a 13-year-old boy was injured, in a roller coaster accident in Aarhus (Denmark).
14-year-old girl dies after accident at Tivoli Friheden in Aarhus

July 14th, 2022 3:57 pm| by Jared Paolino

A 14-year-old girl from Copenhagen has died this afternoon after an accident at Tivoli Friheden in Aarhus. The girl’s relatives have been notified.

The accident happened on the ‘Cobra’ rollercoaster. According to Tivoli Friheden, the rear car broke off from the rest of the train and was left suspended from the ride, leaving several people trapped.

East Jutland Police has said that the exact cause of the accident and the girl’s death will be determined following an investigation and the questioning of witnesses.

A 13-year-old boy sustained injuries to his hand. The boy’s parents have been notified. ...

This is not the first time an accident has happened at Tivoli Friheden involving the ‘Cobra’ rollercoaster.

In 2008, an accident left four young people with serious fractures to their legs and feet, while one suffered a concussion.

At the time, the ride was the park’s newest. The rollercoaster is 25 metres at its highest point and goes as fast as 70 kilometres per hour. ...
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FULL STORY: https://cphpost.dk/?p=136818
 
One of the Disney Splash Mountain boats sank while visitors were riding it. This isn't the first time this has happened. In this case visitors were freaked out and got wet, but it appears no one was injured.
Splash Mountain ride vehicle fills with water with Disney guests on board, video shows

A video posted on social media appears to show a Splash Mountain ride vehicle at Disney's Magic Kingdom beginning to sink with several guests on board.

Ted Klein posted the video to the Walt Disney World Annual Passholders Page on Facebook on Tuesday. His wife, Jennifer Jean, says her whole family was on the boat behind it and saw what was happening.

"So, this just happened on Splash Mountain," Klein captioned the clip. "They went down the big drop with their boat halfway sunk and they were trying to get someone's attention before they started going up. This is at the very end of the ride. They were lucky that they only got wet."

In the video, several guests riding in one of the Splash Mountain log boats – including children – are seen jumping from the ride vehicle onto the attraction platforms. This reportedly happened close to the end of the attraction ...

According to WDW News Today, this is the third time in nearly two years that a ride vehicle at Splash Mountain has sunk. ...
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FULL STORY (With Video): https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/w...ls-with-water-with-guests-onboard-video-shows
 
Jeez heck, those cars in a barrel, like running round in it like a hamster wasn't dangerous enough, looking back over these things makes me wonder how we bloody lived, or did this make a tougher ?
 
Shady said:
Jeez heck, those cars in a barrel, like running round in it like a hamster wasn't dangerous enough, looking back over these things makes me wonder how we bloody lived, or did this make a tougher ?
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Think of it as evolution in action. :reyes:
 
Shady said:
Jeez heck, those cars in a barrel, like running round in it like a hamster wasn't dangerous enough, looking back over these things makes me wonder how we bloody lived, or did this make a tougher ?
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What is needs though is a hula-hoop on fire to ride through.
 
Thirty one people were injured in a roller coaster crash at Legoland in southern Germany. This was the second serious roller coaster accident in Germany during the past week.
Dozens injured in Legoland roller coaster crash in Germany

A roller coaster crash at a Legoland theme park in southern Germany injured 31 people on Thursday, according to local authorities.

One person suffered severe but not life-threatening injuries and 15 people were taken to hospital with light injuries after the incident in the Bavarian town of Günzburg, a police spokesperson told CNN.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but investigators are working at the crash scene, the spokesperson added. ....

The incident was the second recent roller coaster accident in the country.
On Saturday, a 57-year-old woman died when she fell out of a roller coaster car in the Rhineland-Palatinate village of Klotten, local police told CNN. Investigators have yet to present their findings on the cause of the fatal accident. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/europe/germany-legoland-roller-coaster-crash-intl/index.html
 
EnolaGaia said:
Thirty one people were injured in a roller coaster crash at Legoland in southern Germany. This was the second serious roller coaster accident in Germany during the past week.

FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/europe/germany-legoland-roller-coaster-crash-intl/index.html
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I really would have though Germany would be on it with safety. But then I thought UK fire regs would have stopped a massive multi story building fire (Grenfell). Have corners been cut all over and people have taken their eye off the ball?
 
Compensation for flying nurse.

A nursery nurse catapulted from a Hull Fair ride has agreed to a "five-figure" payout for physical and psychological damage caused.

Jade Harrison, 24, fell from the Airmaxx 360 ride at Hull Fair on 7 October 2019, resulting in a broken jaw and other facial injuries. Miss Harrison has agreed an out-of-court settlement with the ride's insurers, her solicitor said.

She said: "I'm a different person now to that one that got on that ride."
Miss Harrison said she had needed psychological support and thousands of pounds worth of dental treatment as a result of the incident.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-62574758
 
So many real life stories of serial killers, sociopaths and absolute personality change involves head injury that I'm critical of treatment of said injury.
I think it needs long-term observation of the sufferer which, sadly, is expensive but might be a good investment considering the impact on society - and the individual.
Just saying "yeah, this 12 year old kid was injured in a way that they were in a coma, and recognisable haemorrhage in the cranium, but they've woken up now and seem okay" just doesn't cut it.
 
A giant slide was (re-)opened this past Friday on Belle Isle (Detroit). The slide was unexpectedly "fast", making for rough rides and safety concerns.
Belle Isle closes giant slide over speed issues, plans to make adjustments

Belle Isle Park posted Friday that they are temporarily closing the giant slide due to speed issues.

Chopper video on Friday showed a few wild rides on the slide. Friday was the first day it was reopened to the public.

Kenyatta Mcadney loves summer on Belle Isle, but he says fun turned to fear around noon for his kids as speed became an issue on a massive slide. ...

His children are now cautioning others. The two youngest refused to go down and the two older kids decided once was enough.

“I was going down way faster than I thought I was. Gravity hurts,” Mcadney’s child Keymarr said. ...

Belle Isle says they are making adjustments to help with the speed. ...

“Hopefully after our small adjustment we will be back up and running and the slide will be slower for more enjoyment,” read a statement.

The Department of Natural Resources, which runs the slide, says there were no injuries and staff members were at the top and bottom of the slide giving instructions. ...

As of Friday night, it was unknown when the ride will reopen.
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FULL STORY (With Video): https://www.wxyz.com/news/video-bel...e-over-speed-issues-plans-to-make-adjustments
 
An unspecified malfunction in the El Toro roller coaster (Six Flags Great Adventure; New Jersey) injured 14 people, 5 of whom were taken to the hospital.
Roller Coaster Malfunction at NJ's Six Flags Great Adventure Leaves 14 Hurt

Several people suffered injuries and five were hospitalized after a roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey malfunctioned at the end of the ride, the amusement park said.

The El Toro roller coaster had a minor accident around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, according to park officials. As the ride was coming toward its conclusion, something malfunctioned and caused multiple injuries to the passengers aboard at the time.

Several people reported back pain, while five guests were taken to a nearby hospital with minor neck, back, mouth and tongue injuries. A total of 14 people were hurt, including the five taken to hospital.

The coaster was shut down after the incident, which occurred just before the park was set to close at its usual time of 8 p.m., the park said.

The incident is under investigation. ...

Last year, the wooden roller coaster was closed when the rear wheels of the car lifted off the track. No one was injured, but the state fined the park $5,000 for not calling ride officials right away.

El Toro, according to the park's website, is one of the fastest and tallest wooden coasters in the world. The ride reaches speeds of 70 mph and climbs up to 19 stories for one of the steepest drops in the country. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loc...at-adventure-leaves-at-least-12-hurt/3839824/
 
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