Hello, Squiz Kids.
I hope everyone's enjoying their Sunday, especially those of you who are back to school tomorrow.
From the Squiz Kids vault.
Today we're pulling out a shortcut that first dropped way back in 2022.
That's all about roller coasters.
And with the school holidays here, maybe some of you Squiz Kids have been lucky enough or will be lucky enough to strap into one over the holiday break.
Just remember to have a bucket handy when you listen to this episode, and not for the reason that you might think.
Buckle up.
Here's our shortcut to roller coasters.
This is a Squiz Kids podcast.
Your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you.
They used to be known as Russian mountains.
Australians spend millions on them every year.
And on some, it's impossible not to scream.
This is your Squiz Kids shortcut to roller coasters a podcast where we dive into the who what when where, why and how of the big news stories.
I'm Amanda Bauer.
And I'm Bryce Corbett.
Bryce, it's getting towards the end of May, which means that in America, amusement parks are opening back up for the summer.
We're talking roller coasters that are as tall as 45-story buildings.
Oh, what?
That get you going at 200 kilometers an hour in under four seconds.
Whoa.
And that, honestly, I think I'd need a sick bag for.
Today we'll take you through when roller coasters were first invented, why people don't fall out when they go upside down and where you can find some of the craziest coasters.
Listen carefully, there's a squiz at the end.
When we're gonna need the time machine for this one bryce, let's go back way back to russia in the 1600s.
Catherine, the great empress of russia, has learned about a gravity-powered thrill ride that involves people sitting in a sled made out of a massive hollowed out block of ice and then sliding down wooden chutes that are packed with ice and snow to make them extra slippy and fast.
The Empress is commissioning.
That means special ordering a slide for herself.
And once an Empress gets on board, word gets around.
To this day, Bryce, roller coasters are still known in some languages as Russian mountains.
Although apparently in Russia, they're known as American mountains.
Yeah, that's interesting.
I have to admit, I thought that they were invented in America.
Well, that's definitely where they became a real phenomenon.
In 1873, people in Pennsylvania took an old coal mining train and they sent passengers hurling down a mountain in it, just for the thrills.
Historians aren't sure about this fact, but they think that mules, which are a cross between a donkey and a horse, would be sent on the ride down as well, so that they could pull the carriage back up the mountain.
That's brilliant.
Now, I can't imagine the mules loved either of those journeys.
Terrifying on the way down, hard slog on the way up.
Yeah, I don't think roller coasters would have ever caught on if they kept using mules.
The first traditional roller coaster was a wooden one and it was built in Coney Island, New York.
The man who invented and patented it was charging five cents per ride when it opened in 1884.
And it was so popular, he was making $600 a day.
Wow.
Now, that's a pretty decent amount in 2022, but it was an absolute fortune back then.
Sure was.
Wooden roller coasters then started popping up all over the globe, including in Melbourne at Luna Park in 1912.
It's one of only seven roller coasters in the world that still has a brake operator riding in the carriages with the passengers.
I'm talking about a man who stands at the back and applies the brakes as you head into the corners.
Amazing.
And it's the second oldest continuously operating coaster in the world.
It's so much fun.
Now, nothing much really changed in the roller coaster world until 1959, when Walt Disney was on holidays with his family in Switzerland.
He sent his ride engineers a postcard of the Matterhorn Mountain and he wrote on the back two words build this.
And they did.
And they opened up a whole new world of roller coasters.
So Disney's Matterhorn team moved away from building with wood and came up with a steel track system.
And because steel could be bent.
It wasn't long until roller coasters had loops and corkscrews and inversions.
Inversions, of course, is a fancy way of saying that passengers are hanging upside down.
Which brings me to ask you about the science of roller coasters, Amanda.
Why don't people fall out when they go upside down?
Why?
Okay, Bryce, well, I know I'm going to sound like a teacher now.
Well, you are a teacher, so that makes sense.
Yeah, okay, good point.
So why do you think people don't fall out when they go upside down on a roller coaster?
Well, I guess I think there are two reasons.
One, they have those safety bars on that you have to pull down before you ride.
And two most roller coasters.
I've been on the wheels sort of have two parts one bit that grips under the track and one that grips over the top.
Yeah, so those are officially called up-stop wheels and, like the name suggests, they're supposed to stop the carriage coming up off the track.
But actually both those things the safety bar and the up-stop wheels are just additional safety measures.
It's centripetal force that's your safety friend.
Uh, sentry what?
All right, are you ready to do an experiment, Bryce?
Yeah, come on then.
Okay, go and find a bucket with a handle and fill it about one third full of water.
Okay, hang on.
Now hold the bucket by the handle and swing it around really fast, kind of like you're doing a whole lot of tennis serves all in a row.
All right, here we go.
Okay.
All right, what's happening to the water, Bryce?
Wow, the water's staying in the bucket even though it's upside down.
What's happened to gravity?
Where did it go?
Don't worry, gravity's still there.
But the speed of you spinning that bucket is putting its own force on the water.
It's causing the water to get squished up, first against the side of the bucket as you start your swing, and then, when the bucket's over your head, the water's being pushed up against the inside bottom of the bucket.
So gravity is still there and pulling down, but the strength of that squish is stronger than the pull of gravity.
So the water stays in the bucket.
Okay.
So what happens now if I don't swing the bucket quite so fast?
Oh, I definitely, definitely think you should find out.
Okay.
Slow down.
Oh, Amanda.
You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?
You knew I was going to get wet.
By swinging more slowly, the water wasn't getting pushed up as fast and the force of gravity was greater than that upwards push, meaning the water fell down, and now I'm wet.
Yes, you are.
But Bryce, you know, they always say that we learn best by doing, and now you've done that experiment.
You won't forget.
And I bet the next time you're on a roller coaster and you're going upside down in one of those loops, you're going to notice that it feels like you're actually getting pushed up into your seat and just like that water was being pushed up inside the bucket.
Of course, even though that will stop you falling out of a roller coaster, you should still follow all those safety measures.
Of course, whatever you say.
So where should I go to dry off?
No, I mean where should I go to ride some of the world's craziest coasters?
Where?
Well, Bryce, where you want to go to ride roller coasters all depends on what you're looking for.
The world's fastest roller coaster is at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East.
The track sits on a racing course and cars are built to look like, you guessed it, Ferraris.
Within five seconds of starting the ride, you will be going and eye-popping 240 k's an hour.
What?
I've popped a link in your episode notes to a video of Formula One Ferrari drivers sitting and riding the coaster at its opening in 2010.
It is pretty funny.
Yes, I've seen that video.
I love how one of them at the beginning is saying, aye, aye, aye, before they've even started.
There's also a video in your episode notes from the tallest coaster in the world.
It's Kinder Car in America.
The track goes up to a height of a 45-story building, and then it sends you hurling down at 205 k's an hour.
Wow.
It's really weird how, when you watch the video, you get that feeling that you're going up and then that you're flying down.
You know your stomach kind of flips because your eyes are sending the message to your brain that you're doing it, because you're getting that first person experience from the video.
Wowzers.
Sounds like some of these videos probably shouldn't be watched on a full stomach.
No, definitely not.
Speaking of which, I've included a video from the ride with the most inversions.
That's when you go upside down, right?
It's at England's Alton Towers.
And you do that 14 times on the inappropriately named The Smiler.
Yes, I feel like that may be an ironic name for that particular roller coaster.
Now, asking for a friend, Amanda, what if you don't want to go on the fastest or steepest or the one with the most upside downies?
Well, that friend of yours, Bryce, could find The Wicker Man interesting.
It's a ride that's based on an old horror movie and it's actually just a wooden roller coaster, but it has a pre-ride show and then you ride through this thing that's on fire and oh, hang on, horror movie fire.
Maybe that's a bit.
Too scary for me.
You know what?
Instead, your friend could try to break a Guinness World Record for the longest ride.
That currently stands at 112 days with only five minutes break each hour to go to the toilet.
No, thank you.
An entire summer spent sitting on the same roller coaster ride?
Well, Bryce, there's always the scenic railway at Luna Park.
110 years of continuous operation can't be wrong.
Let's go to Melbourne.
Let's do Melbourne.
Time for the quiz.
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening.
Question number one.
What was the early name for roller coasters still used in some countries to this day?
That's right.
It was Russian mountains.
Question number two.
The fastest roller coaster in the world is in Abu Dhabi at what world?
That's right.
It's Ferrari World.
Question number three.
How much did one ride cost on the first wooden roller coaster in Coney Island?
You would need to have been listening very carefully to get this one.
It was five cents.
That'd be a bargain today.
That's all we have time for today.
Thanks for joining us as we explored the who, what, how, where, when and why of roller coasters.
Now get out there and have a most excellent day.
Over and out.
