June 13, 1884 marked the debut of an invention which people still view today with either wild enthusiasm or utter terror. Chase's Calendar of Events recognizes June 13, 1884 as the anniversary of the opening of the first roller coaster. A lot was involved in the creation of the roller coaster; it didn't just spring into being that June day at Coney Island. Eighty years before that day, a roller coaster with wheels called "the Russian Mountains"was being ridden by people in Paris. Early roller coasters were a one way ride, sort of like going downhill on a sled, and they were very dangerous.

Americans discovered the roller coaster in the late 1800s. According to The American amusement park industry by Judith Adams, "the form of early American roller coasters seems to have been inspired by the switchback railway developed to transport coal from a quarry in Mauch Chunk, PA. When the railroad was abandoned, the townspeople converted it to a tourist attraction. In 1873 they were giving rides to about 35,000 tourists a year at a charge of 5 cents a person. LaMarcus Adna Thompson used this idea, with improvements suggested by others, and built a roller coaster. His roller coaster is the one celebrated as the first American roller coaster put into operation at Coney Island in 1884." Judith Adams gives some idea of what a success this was in her book. " At a nickel a ride, Thompson's receipts exceeded $600 a day. In three weeks, he had earned back his original investment."

Roller coasters have gone on to become extremely popular. Many amusement parks like Six Flags and Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio (roller coaster capitol of the world) have established their reputations through their roller coasters. Some people, myself included, would rather watch than ride, but we seem to be in the minority. I find myself amazed and intimidated by small children, just barely able to meet the height requirement, who are laughing and screaming and waving their arms in the air. I rode a roller coaster once, jammed down in the seat as far as I could go, hanging on for my life, with my eyes closed from the time the ride started until it stopped. Laugh and scream, HA! I was too terrified to make a sound!

If you are an aficionado, the library has some interesting books on roller coasters and amusement parks:
Roller coasters of America
A century of fun : a pictorial history of New England Amusement Parks
Remembering Benson's Wild Animal Farm, Hudson, New Hampshire
There are also a couple of children's books: The World's Wildest Roller Coasters and Amusement park science
and for those people (and I know you're out there) who feel best with their feet on the ground, the library has a Play Station 2 video game called Theme Park Roller Coaster.

So, this summer while you are up there waving your arms and screaming, look for me. I'll be the one standing down on the ground waving, with a big smile on my face. I'm not crazy, just scared!