Supposedly the tallest in the world. Click on take a virtual ride. Kingda Ka is what you scream before you throw up. http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/index.asp > [Original Message] > From: Andreas Ramos <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: 8/28/2005 2:06:15 AM > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Violence without Horror > > > As I wrote that, I recalled that one of the text book > > aesthetics problems is the rollercoaster. That is, > > apparently people are terrified by it and yet seem to > > enjoy themselves, which obviously begs for an > > explanation. > > A few weeks ago, I spent an evening at various kinds of rollercoasters. These are not really > roller coasters. You don't coast. Not much rolling either. You're knocked around at all > sorts of angles to the ground and the sky. > > A group wanted to do another "ride" that is somewhat like a group bungee cord jump thing. > Three people are strapped in and dropped 100 feet face down. > > I wasn't really terrified. In the rollercoasters, you just hang on and try to keep a sense > of direction. The "ride" lasts only 34 seconds. I've been on roller coasters, where you roll > and coast, and that's more emotionally stimulating, because it lasts longer and you get a > better sense of the rush, the dives, and so on. > > In the bungee jump thing, the feeling is just petrified. Falling 100 feet head down takes > only a few seconds. You're just speechless with terror. > > An aesthetic? Not really. The rides are far too brief and abrupt and chaotic to be an > identifiable sensation. I didn't find any of the rides to be anything even slightly > enjoyable. I'd do some of them again, for the novelty of the experience. > > yrs, > andreas > www.andreas.com > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html