Roller Coasters

A roller coaster, also known as a rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that uses an elevated railroad track with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride in open cars along the track, and the rides can be found in amusement parks and theme parks all over the world. Rollercoasters, despite being faster and more complicated than before, were not designed with screams and panic in mind. Quite the opposite, in fact. LaMarcus Adna Thompson created the rollercoaster to keep you on track and away from sinful temptations like drinking and gambling.

In 1885, LaMarcus Adna Thompson received one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design, which was related to the Switchback Railway, which opened a year earlier at Coney Island. As shuttle roller coasters demonstrate, the track in a coaster design does not have to be a complete circuit. The majority of roller coasters have several cars in which passengers sit and are restrained. A train is made up of two or more cars that are linked together. Some roller coasters, most notably the Wild Mouse roller coaster, have single cars.

Creator: LaMarcus Adna Thompson
Introduced: 1885