The lifestyles of the society were constantly growing and changing but during the 1870's a major addition was made. Amusement Parks, which allowed prospectors to travel near and far for a chance to experience thrilling rides, freak shows, and lots of fun games. The addition of amusement parks created an environment for everyone to experience a lot of exciting new things as a community. The whole world would go to amusement parks and for a day, the society would be a community. The concept of urbanization and industrialization was what helped lead to the beginning of amusement parks and the evolution of their safety and thrill defying abilities.
While some people could not afford to live in the big city, where most amusement parks were, they were given the opportunities to stay in hotels near the amusement parks that offered the same environment of the amusement parks. Coney Island, one of the most famous and well known amusement parks, contained a beach and ocean that people were allowed to swim in and tan around. This lured prospects in because most people came from far away in places that did not have an ocean or at least one that was not easily accessible. Hotels began to pop up all around Coney Island because people were coming from far away and were unable to just spend one day there and leave that same day. William J. Phalen, author of
Coney Island: 150 Years of Rides, Fires, Floods, The Rich, The Poor, and Finally Robert Moses, wrote that the hotels offered a beach environment that attracted tourists. Many hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers began to pop up all around in big cities because while people stayed in the city they needed more than just an amusement park to enjoy.
The use of railroads were being used throughout amusement parks on the thrill rides. One of the first roller coasters was built in 1884, which was a cart set on a train track, then pushed down a hill and pushed back up to the top for the next riders. The only issue with this was that it was not attached to the track and it was too much effort to push the cart back up to the top of the ride. Laborious hours were spent on trying to figure out how to create a much more efficient ride that allowed greater speeds and a more thrilling adventure. In 1906, a man discovered that he was able to electrically power the roller coaster. A motor man would be seated in the front seat of the ride, to control the amount of speed he needed to apply. The only issue with this, the motor could accidentally apply to much power and result in fatalities. For example, in 1910, the motor man applied too much power on a turn of the ride and caused the riders to flip. Four out of sixteen passengers were killed from the sixty foot drop. Eventually, in 1912, the creation of the up-stop wheel system became available. This system attached to the wheels of the carts so they would have no chance of flying off the tracks.
In addition to these innovations, the idea of going upside was an exciting new idea for riders. In 1898, The Flip Flap Railway Ride was designed being the first roller coaster to go upside down. It was a vertical loop that was completely circular. Many prospectors rode this ride. The issue with this one though, was because the ride was completely circular, the force applied on the riders while riding this ride, was too strong and caused the riders to snap their necks. Later, discoveries about the laws of physics when dealing with roller coasters came into action. The rides needed to be slightly more vertical than horizontal in order to keep the riders safely intact.
Although the amusement parks were exciting and thrilling, they had their downsides. The sanitation of amusement parks were very bad at first. According to an
article I read, announcing the necessity for cleaner environments at amusement parks. In the article, it stated that many of the water sources were very unsanitary due to the constant waste being thrown into the sewage or rivers, etc. This cause a very unsanitary environment for prospectors. Also, because most people did not own a swimsuit, the were rented out at the parks. Which were cleaned and washed but were usually cleaned with the unsanitary water. This caused illnesses and also caused people to leave amusement parks.
Most of the amusement parks were an amazing addition to the world and offered multiple opportunities for the prospectors to gather together and enjoy all the thrilling rides, fun games, and great food even if there were different races or genders. It gave the world an opportunity to come together as a community.
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