The Most Bad Ass Amusement Park Ride That Never Was

Eat your heart out, Intamin and S&S fans!

Yes, amusement park safety technology was pretty much non-existent back in the last 19th century, but you have to admit that this free-fall ride concept was far beyond the acceptable level of crazy for it’s day.

According to io9.com, this is from, “An 1891 issue of Scientific American. (It) showcased this invention by a one Monsieur Carron of Grenoble, France. In short, Carron had invented an amusement ride that involved 15 patrons falling almost 1,000 feet inside a 30-foot-long bullet, which then would land inside a champagne-flute-shaped, 180-foot-deep well.”

Eat your hearts out, free fall fans. This thing is crazier than the looping waterslide at Action Park in New Jersey. (The only difference – that was ACTUALLY built!)

The article also goes into very specific details on how the “ride” would work:

“Mr. Charles Carron, an engineer at Grenoble, has analytically studied the conditions in which the punctuation of the water by such a shell would be effected, and the reactions that the passengers would have to support. The conclusions of this study show that there is nothing, either theoretically or practically, opposed to its construction and to its operation in falls reaching three hundred meters. The accompanying figures give the general aspect of such a shell capable of accommodating fifteen passengers falling from a height of 300 meters […] The passengers would be securely seated in arm chairs that exactly followed the contours of their body.”

Nevermind the fact that there’s no lap bars to hold you in, or that the wind conditions at 1000 feet are far different than those on the ground. (Trust me, I used to work with an airship company – they’re WILDLY different!) True, in principle it makes sense – but we all know from the Mythbusters that real-world results can always vary!

Here’s my question – who’s ready to queue up for a modern take on this?!?