Some called them “canned thrills” which paled in comparison to real life activities like riding in a motor car or traveling on horseback. But, at Coney Island in the 1920s, the rides were anything but simple or cheap. From the looks of these attractions, it looked like one might lose an eye or some hair going on some of the rides!

Long before safety regulations governed amusement park rides down to the weight limit and screw size, rides at Coney Island were actually quite dangerous. How about bumper cars but on a moving floor and the attendants have to constantly “un-jam” the cars? How about a giant carousel up high with swings instead of horses and no seat belts? If those aren’t scary enough for you there’s even a spinning ride which moves the riders along a series of giant spinning wheels in a sea of other fair-goers with no safety equipment at all. If you want to see just how dangerous amusement park rides used to be then watch the terrifying video of Coney Island from 1926 below.

Subscribe to Dusty Old Thing