Metal Barrel Revolving on Pipe Adds to Playground Thrills (Oct, 1924)
Metal Barrel Revolving on Pipe Adds to Playground Thrills
Hung lengthwise through the center on a horizontal pipe, a revolving metal barrel has proved a popular addition to the
playground equipment of a park in Pasadena, Calif. Attempting to stand erect on the barrel requires almost acrobatic skill.
Today, that’d be an instant lawsuit.
And it may be a trick of perspective but doesn’t the hole look slightly off-center?
Ah, the thrill of a fractured skull
Metal barrel revolving on pipe adds to playground thrills…
This looks like a lot of fun — Popular Mechanics 1924 Modern Mechanix » Metal Barrel Revolving on Pipe Adds to Playground Thrills – Link…….
[...] thrills indeed, the image came from the Modern Mechanix [...]
Actually, there’s a campground that is favored by the cub scouts here in Jersey that still has this ‘attraction’ in their playground. Although it has been improved for safety by placing a standing platform on either side (so you don’t have to fall so far to get a concussion).
I am (happily) amazed that this campground hasn’t been shut down by some personal injury lawsuit. The playground borders a pond with an old 18 foot boat on its shore that wasn’t at all ‘kid-proofed’. They just dropped it there and let it rot. So aside from the rotting decking, rusty hardware and broken beer bottles, every time I’ve looked in the boat there have been several copperheads slithering around. Then there’s the twenty foot tall spiral slide and the steel roundabout. Don’t get me wrong, I ‘survived’ these playgrounds when I was a child. I’m just surprised that in today’s litigious society a place like this can still exist. Though I’m sure its days are numbered.
The lumberjack test:
Gilligan hated snakes:
Crazy cool Helter Skelter:
And of course, what playground would be complete without a spooky garbage eating clown:
The lumberjack test
Gilligan hated snakes
Crazy cool Helter Skelter
And of course, what playground would be complete without a spooky garbage eating clown
God, imagine if that little girl actually had to keep that balance for hours just so the artist could draw her for the magazine. I’ve seen something like this in a playground before. The barrel was plastic (what isn’t made of plastic in most playgrounds nowadays?) and it wasn’t an independent “attraction”, it was sort of built into the bottom side of one big structure, which was a colloaberation of playground attractions. Anyways, it had a pipe above it so you could hang from it while trying to balance. It safe, and proved to be quite entertaining.