A Dozen Ways of Breaking Your Neck 



Would you care to imitate the motion of a corkscrew pulling a stopper 

 out of a bottle? Does the idea of looping-the-loop on roller skates 

 thrill you? Would a dash under water in an open boat make life a 

 little less wearisome? If not, this article will reveal more monotony killers 



By Cicorgc WiJrl.s 



A prize is placed on the pinnacle of a polished incline in a whirling wheel, but centrifugal force 

 deposits the aspirants on tlie circular seat around the edge. The incline also revolves rapidly 



THK suicidal insiimi must lurk dccji 

 within "us. In its niiltlest form it 

 displays itself wlien wc march up to 

 a Cone>- Island ncck-broakor and are 

 twisted, turned and hurled by some tk-ndish 

 contrivance. The barljarian treads keen 

 knife-blades and up-ended nails when tiie 

 need of self-pain possesses him. We, who 

 are ci\ilized, pay a dime to have our senses 

 of gravity and cc|uilii)rium tortured and 

 distorted. We drop down inclines with a 

 speed sufficient to place the jiits of our 

 stomachs on an ecpial footiiii; witii our ears; 

 we s|)in through iialls of iiorror. built on 

 the architectural i)lan of a Bdasco iiell, and 

 we l)ouncc and iioj) and skid over crazy 

 contrajnions in a wa%- that would cause our 

 J'ilj^rim leathers to tiirow up their hands in 

 luily terror. In spite of it all, we like it. 

 Nine times out of ten, we Ia>' another ilime 

 and dash inlo the II. dl of Horrors for a 

 second thrill. 



Hack in the (la\s of our barb.uic be^jin- 

 nings, when we were smitten with the 

 pangs of self-hate and we had tired of 

 treading hot coals or up-ended spikes or 

 sel-in safety razor-blades, we consulted thi- 

 medicine man, and lo! — he contri\e<l ,i new 

 and refreshing tori inc. 



Arc you tired of such mcdi.ieval tortures 

 as liie scenic railway with its stom.uh- 



elevating swoop? Do the crash and splatter 

 of the shoot-the-chute bore you.' Thumb, 

 then, the illuminating pages' of the Patent 

 Oflice {".azelte, and let the medicine-man 

 inventor (lecide for you. Select your neck- 

 breaker and request your favorite amuse- 

 ment park man to build one. 



The Waslehasket of Dizziness 

 For exam|)Ie, there is a thriller which 

 might be labeled "The Wastei)asket of 

 Dizziness" (page Sfu). .Xnot her good name 

 for it is the "autowhirl." A wood or steel 

 structure resembling a gigantic waste- 

 basket is lined with rails set spirally. The 

 car starts at the top, gathers momentum 

 and whirls arountl and around until it 

 shoots out at tile bottom. It resembles the 

 iiaskets of death si> familiar to the circus 

 or vaude\ ille luihiltie. in which a bicycle or 

 niotorcvcle rider drives around and around 

 until, by centriltig.il jorce, he h.is attained 

 a whirling motion p.irallel with the .stage. 

 Ivvhibit H p.uiakes of the merry-go- 

 'round variety of tiirill (page 8(>j). A 

 mount.iin St ream which apparently defies I he 

 well-known law that waler runs down hill, 

 not up. c.iscades merril\- up .md (low n a n.ir- 

 row ravine. This feature is. ichieved through 

 recourse to a good plumber. It surpa.ssi-s 

 Tennyson's brook. It not tinlv Hows on 



H(Jn 



