One of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world is riding roller coasters. Sometimes, people will wait for hours to experience an old classic or the newest thrilling ride.
People ride and enjoy roller coasters for a variety of reasons: they like the speed, the perceived danger, and, like a small child riding a wagon too quickly on a curved sidewalk, they enjoy being afraid.
Strangely enough, the roller coaster was invented primarily for none of these reasons. Immorality served as the driving force behind the creation of the roller coaster in the late 1800s.
LaMarcus Adna Thompson was searching for a past time that would attract Americans away from the taverns, gambling and dancing halls, and brothels that were growing more and more popular as the country grew more and more prosperous after the Civil War. She believed that America was both creating and rushing into a den of iniquity.
Thompson, who moved to Elkhart, Indiana, after being born in Ohio, invented a machine that makes seamless women’s stockings and other hosiery. Thompson became wealthy thanks to this company and his patent. Because of his poor health, he retired early and received money from his patent.
Like many other Americans of the era, Thompson was a devout religious man who worried that the nation’s emerging affluent and urban culture was unquestionably harmful. He desired to take action in this regard.
Thompson was inspired by something entirely unrelated to women’s underwear while on a leisurely trip through the tranquil Pennsylvanian hills.
Thompson saw individuals enjoying themselves on an abandoned mining railway in the peculiarly named town of Mauch Chunk in the state’s east.
The purpose of the Mauch Chunk railway was to move coal from the surrounding Lehigh River docks to Bethlehem’s steel mills.
As the area’s coal mines started to disappear, the railway was transformed into a vacation destination. Coal carts were pulled up nearby Mt. Pisgah by mules on the nine-mile railway in the early 1800s.
The railway was extended to about eighteen miles later in the 19th century, and a steam engine took the place of the mules. But the majority of the track was a gravity-assisted switchback.
Remember, these were the days before cars and airplanes, when nothing made by humans moved as quickly as the cars as they rolled down the track. At times, the cars’ speeds were much faster than those of a train or a running horse.
The railway was an exciting attraction for tourists who came to the hills around Mauch Chunk. There was a 600-plus foot “drop” at the end, more of a slope, but nothing like it at the time, which is why some people called it “harrowing.” By the time LaMarcus Thompson visited, tourists paid one dollar (not cheap for the time) for a ride on the railway, which took 80 minutes to complete.
Thompson got the idea from this. He sketched out designs for a scale model of the switchback railway he had witnessed.
The “train” cars themselves and a ratchet mechanism to stop the trains from rolling backward were two features he had observed in Pennsylvania. He created the well-known wooden frame structure and received a patent for it.
In the spring of 1884, Coney Island, New York, saw the construction of the first Thompson “roller coaster.” Originally developed as a resort in the early 1800s, Coney Island boasted theaters, a racetrack, restaurants, and, much to the chagrin of those who held differing opinions from Thompson, a large number of taverns and bordellos by the time the Civil War ended.
These “Houses of Pleasure” were illegal, but as long as everything was kept appropriately covert and organized, most people accepted them with a knowing wink.
It was for this reason that Thompson selected Coney Island.
He believed that his “Switchback Railway” would keep people out of the bars and brothels, into the open air, and with their families.
A nickel was the cost of a ticket. The maximum speed is a matter of some dispute, but it was not more than ten miles per hour. Ten miles an hour was fast, again, except in the case of a closed-in train and a horse, both of which very few people in Coney Island had ever ridden.
Bicycle ownership was not common at the time, and neither were cars or airplanes. Thompson’s original ride measured six hundred feet in length and fifty feet in elevation.
The cars began at the top and descended the whole length of the track, passing through a few small dips.
The riders reached the other end, where gravity propelled them up a second hill and back to the beginning. There would be two train cars running at the same time.
Thompson was earning about six hundred dollars a day in three weeks, which is fifteen thousand dollars a day today! Thompson quickly began to make advancements and patent them. Others soon began building their own switchback railroads.
They became well-liked since many of them accelerated the pace. Speed was progressively increased by Thompson’s amusements, which he started to construct across the nation, but he concentrated on adding novelty features like lights, tunnels, artificial mountains, “scenery” beside the track, etc.
Thompson’s original rides are directly related to Disney World’s well-known Space Mountain ride, which features flashing lights and dark tunnels.
In the late 1880s, a type of winter ride that featured a toboggan on rollers that was pulled to the top of a snowy hill, akin to Thompson’s railway, gave rise to the popular term “roller coaster.”
As a matter of fact, Thompson did not create the roller coaster. Before Thompson’s ride, similar gravity rides had briefly been available in France, but they never really took off and quickly vanished.
Thompson accumulated significant wealth by the time of his death in 1919, at the age of 71. Though nearly everyone was having the time of their lives while riding his rides, Thompson’s rides never quite took the place of bars and bordellos.
The true story of Annie Oakley, legendary sharpshooter
Anne Oakley was such a good shooter that she could split a playing card help edge-on, hit dimes thrown into the air, shoot cigarette from her husband's lips, and pierce a playing card thrown into the air before it hit the ground.
The Day an Israeli F-15 Landed with One Wing: Zivi Nedivi’s Unbelievable Mid-Air Survival
Discover the astonishing true story of Israeli pilot Zivi Nedivi, who safely landed an F-15 after a mid-air collision tore off its entire right wing. Learn how skill, quick thinking, and the F-15’s unique design turned a disaster into a legendary feat in aviation history
A Brief History of the PlayStation Gaming Console
Sony's PlayStation was never meant to be an actual product. Instead, it was intended to be a CD-ROM console that would support Nintendo games. However, when Nintendo backed out of the deal at the last minute, Sony went ahead and launched what soon became one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.
Iranian inmate dies from happiness after finding out he will not be executed
An Iranian man who was convicted of murder reportedly died from happiness after learning that his death sentence was being commuted.
June and Jennifer Gibbons The silent twin who Only Spoke to Each Other
Identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born on 11 April 1963 at a military hospital in Aden, Yemen where their father worked as part of the Royal Air Force.
8 Interesting Facts About The Unsinkable Ship, TITANIC
If you ask your friends what's the most famous ship in history the answer in most cases will be the same, of course the legendary Titanic. Its history is full of mysteries, at first it was a source of hope and national pride as well as proof of the triumphs of mankind but it soon became a source of nostalgia and pain, the extent of which cannot be described in words.
The Arabia Steamboat: Unearthing a 19th Century Time Capsule from the Missouri River
The Arabia was a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856. Over time, the river shifted 800 meters to the east, eventually turning the site of the sinking into a field. The steamboat remained under 45 feet of slit and topsoil until 1988, when it was excavated. The mud, as it turned out, was such a great preserver that most of the artifacts on board were found to be intact. They even found jars of preserved apples that were still edible!
The 1976 April Fools' Pranks, Planetary Alignment
On April fool's Day, 1976, the BBC convinced many listeners that a special alignment of the planets would temporarily decrease gravity on Earth. Phone lines were flooded with callers who claimed they felt the effects.
The youngest person executed, George Stinney Jr was proven innocent
In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was 14 years old when he was executed in South Carolina. It took only ten minutes to convict him — and 70 years to exonerate him.
Poto And Cabengo: The Secret Language Of Twins
Poto and Cabengo, as the two girls called each other, communicated in their own language. The twins were ignored by their parents and secluded from the outside world because their father felt they were developmentally retarded, and their unique language evolved as a result of that neglect.
The story of Bill Haast, who lived to be 100 despite his extensive snake venom injections
Bill Haast immunized himself by injecting snake venom into his blood for several years. He holds the Guinness World Record for surviving the most lethal snake bites, having been bitten over 172 times. Bill became known as "Snake Man" around the world and lived for over 100 years.
The World’s First Seismograph: How Ancient China Detected Earthquakes 1,800 Years Ago
Over 1,800 years ago, long before modern technology, the ancient Chinese astronomer and inventor Zhang Heng created the world’s first seismograph in 132 AD. This ingenious bronze device could detect distant earthquakes by releasing small balls from dragons’ mouths into toads’ mouths—each indicating a different compass direction. Its historic detection of an earthquake 400 miles away astonished the imperial court and transformed the way societies understood and responded to seismic events.
History of Treadmill, punishment for prisoners
Treadmills were originally a punishment used to harness human power on a giant wheel used to grind grains, hence the name "treadmill." The History of Treadmill
Titanoboa cerrejonensis, fossils of the world’s largest species of snake
In 2009 in a coal mine of Columbia, scientists discovered fossils of the world’s largest species of snake. The species is called “Titanoboa cerrejonensis,“and it is from around 60 million years ago. It would have had measured about 48 feet long and weighed about 2,500 pounds
The 1814 London beer flood
In 1814, there was a beer flood in London when a tank containing more than 300,000 gallons ruptured in which 8 people drowned.
The true story of Josephine Myrtle Corbin, the lady born with four legs and two private parts
Josephine Myrtle Corbin, an American sideshow performer born in 1868, had a rare condition known as dipygus, which caused her to have four legs, each smaller inner leg paired with one of her outer legs. Corbin joined the sideshow circuit, captivating audiences as the "Four-Legged Girl from Texas."
The Baltic Way: the longest unbroken human chain in history
On August 23, 1989, about 2 million people from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania formed a human chain that united all 3 countries to show the world their desire to escape the Soviet Union and the communism that brought only suffering and poverty. This power stretched 600 km.
Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small
1972 Andes Plane Crash Survivor recall the terrifying Struggles to Stay Alive
On October 13, 1972, a plane carrying a rugby team from Uruguay crashed in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. The survivors were in brutal conditions - high altitude, bitter cold, and the lack of food—and faced the most terrible choice—eating the frozen flesh of their dead friends or starving to death themselves.
Moondyne Joe: The story of Australia's most notorious prison escapee
A man named Joseph Bolitho Johns (A.K.A Moondyne Joe) broke out of Australian prisons so many times that the police were compelled to build a special cell just for him. He escaped from that as well.
Keith Sapsford: The Story of 14-Year-Old Stowaway
The final image of 14-year-old Australian Keith Sapsford, who aspired to travel the world. In February 1970, he sneaked into the wheel-well of a plane flying from Sydney to Tokyo. It opened mid-air & fell out. When a photographer was testing a new lens, he captured this moment on film and was surprised when it developed.
The unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb until 1922
The unbroken seal of Tutankhamun's tomb before it was opened in 1923, it was unbroken for over 3000 years.
story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina
Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.
The touching story of David Vetter (bubble boy), the 'boy who lived in a bubble
David Vetter lived his whole 12 years in sterile “bubble”. He was “outside” for 20 second after being removed from his mother’s womb. He never touched any human.
The Horrific story of Ariel Castro and the Cleveland abduction
Cleveland abduction victims Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, and Amanda Berry were forced to live in Ariel Castro's house of horrors for 10 years. He raped and beat them until they escaped in 2013.
