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1872 The 1st Roller Coaster Is Built At Rocky Point, RI. The Ride Began With A Shove.

roller coaster

Each year National Roller Coaster Day on August 16th people flock to amusement parks for a thrill and a few excited screams, too! Take a ride on a roller coaster near you.

  • The day commemorates the first verticle loop roller coaster which was patented by Edwin Prescott on this day in 1898.
  • A roller coaster consists of one or multiple cars on a track. While they are similar to railroad systems in design, the inclines and vertical loops incorporated in the structures aren’t for transportation.
  • The oldest roller coasters are believed to have originated from the so-called “Russian Mountains.”  Built-in the 17th century, these specially constructed hills of ice located near Saint Petersburg, Russia rose between 70 and 80 feet in height. Passengers faced 50-degree drops. Wooden supports supplied reinforcement.
  • Roller coaster designs existed since at least 1872 when J.G. Taylor received one of the earliest patents. He called his creation an inclined railway. Another patent granted for an inclined-plane railway was granted to Richard Knudsen in 1878.
  • For years, history has believed the first roller coaster in America opened at Coney Island on June 16, 1884. However, tracing J.G. Taylor’s patent and newspaper articles tells us a different story.
  • According to the Providence Evening Press dated June 1872, Taylor’s elevated railway at Rocky Point, Rhode Island extended 400 feet and gave nine passengers a ride. It all started with a shove and allowing gravity to do the rest.
  • While Prescott’s patent detailed ways to improve upon structures such as J.G. Taylor’s and that built at Coney Island, it was Prescott’s designs that led to the roller coasters we know today. His design gave riders a reason to scream and keep coming back for the rush of excitement.
  • The fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa ride, is located in Abu Dhabi’s Formula One theme park and launches its riders to a top speed of 149 miles per hour.
  • Japan’s Nagashima Spa Land is home to the longest rollercoaster in the world. The Steel Dragon 2000 has a track which covers 8133 feet.
  • Six Flags Magic Mountain in California currently has the highest amount of roller coasters in its park with 19 rides within its park.
  • In 1959, the first ever steel roller coaster was created. The Matterhorn bobsled roller coaster was built for Disneyland in California.
  • America’s first roller coaster rolled at a snail’s pace. In June 1884, at Coney Island in Brooklyn, thrill-seekers could ride the Switchback Railway roller coaster, which reached a breakneck speed of six mph, for the cost of a nickel.
  • Roller coaster loops are never circular, but instead, are designed with an upside down “teardrop” shape. This is because perfectly circular loops will subject riders to up to 6Gs of g-force, causing them to get injured. – Source
  • Your organs are floating when you get that “stomach in your chest” feeling on a roller coaster. – Source
  • The Beast at Kings Island in Ohio is the longest wooden roller coaster. It has 7,359 feet of track, making it the 3rd longest coaster overall in the world.
  • Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan has a 121 degree tilt drop free fall, making it the steepest roller coaster in the world.
  • The Green Lantern coaster at Movie World in Australia has a 120.5 degree vertical angle.
  • The Timber Drop at Fraispertuis City in France has a 113 degree maximum vertical angle.
  • The roller coaster with the steepest angle of descent in the United States is the Fahrenheit at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. It has a 97 degree angle of descent.
  • Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure & Safari in Jackson, New Jersey currently holds the record for the second fastest roller coaster (it was fastest until Formula Rossa came along and it is still the fastest in North America), reaching 128 miles per hour. The coaster opened in May 2005 in the park’s jungle-themed area.
  • Kingda Ka takes the top spot for the largest drop of any roller coaster; it’s 418 feet from the top of the largest drop to the bottom.
  • In early May 2016, Ohio’s Cedar Point theme park unleashed Valravn, which broke numerous world records as the tallest (223 ft), longest (3,415 ft) and fastest (75 mph) dive roller coaster. It also boasts the highest inversion (165 ft) and most numerous inversions (3) of any dive coaster to date.

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