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Reminds me of MIT, ~15 years ago. For dorm rush, when incoming freshman walk around campus and decide where they want to live, undergrads at my dorm, East Campu
by losvedir 4y ago
Reminds me of MIT, ~15 years ago. For dorm rush, when incoming freshman walk around campus and decide where they want to live, undergrads at my dorm, East Campus, would build out some neat, full-size wooden roller coasters. I never personally rode one, but I was always super impressed by them! They weren't quite as intense as the photos in the article here, but were still pretty big and seemed to get to a decent speed.
That said, looking back now, I'm kind of shocked the administration let them get away with it! I wonder if anything is still going on like that now? Sadly, I kind of doubt it would even be allowed, for liability reasons. But I also wonder if East Campus even kept up with it otherwise. It strikes me as the kind of thing that would have been instituted by someone or some group of people (some kids on Second West, IIRC) because some people are just like that, which could then maybe keep up by cultural inertia for a time once the founders move on, but which would ultimately stop on its own.
- csdvrx 4y ago> Sadly, I kind of doubt it would even be allowed, for liability reasons Then maybe we need less liability laws? If I want to risk my life in a fun ride, and I'm ready to sign whatever waiver, I should be free to do that. This could be a small step to help make universities fun again.
- mellavora 4y agoYou need to reform health insurance first. That's a lot of what drives the liability claims.
- abrax3141 4y agoThe proximal cause of liability claims is breaking one’s neck on a roller coaster made by an undergrad. :-)
- mwint 4y agoEasy to test, are unqualified people able to build a massive wooden rollercoaster on university grounds in (insert healthcare utopia here) without university admin getting itchy?
- syntheticnature 4y agoLooks like it stopped for a bit, then came back in the mid-2010s (see another Atlas Obscura link[0]) and the last mention I find is for 2019. 0: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/fleeting-wonders-those-wacky-mit-kids-built-a-roller-coaster https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/fleeting-wonders-those...
- As_You_Wish 4y agoFor almost 100 years, Texas A&M created MASSIVE bonfires prior to their game against archrival University of Texas. The bonfires became bigger and bigger each year. In 1999, 70 students at a time set up more than 5,000 logs. On November 18, 1999, the stack was 59 feet high. You should all see where this is going.... The stack collapsed. Cranes were brought in. The process was slow - a wrong move...further collapse and students were under the logs. 12 kids died, 27 injured. So there ya go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggie_Bonfire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggie_Bonfire