Slide in Valparaíso as an integral part of the square architecture"The Golem" - a giant monster with three red tongues protruding from its mouth, which serve as playground slides, Jerusalem, made by the sculptorNiki de Saint Phalle
Playground slides are found in parks, schools, playgrounds and backyards. The slide is an example of the simple machine known as the inclined plane,[1][circular reference] which makes moving objects up and down easier, or in this case more fun. The slide may be flat, or half cylindrical or tubular to prevent falls. Slides are usually constructed of plastic, metal, and sometimes concrete. They have a smooth surface called a 'slide bed' that is either straight for the full length or can contain bends. The user, typically a child, climbs to the top of the slide via a ladder or stairs and sits down on the top of the slide and slides down the chute.
In Australia, the playground slide is known as a slide, slippery slide, slipper slide or slippery dip depending on the region. Whereas sliding board is used in the Philadelphia area and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic.[2]
The earliest known playground slide was erected in the playground of Washington, D.C.'s "Neighborhood House" sometime between the establishment of the "Neighborhood House" in early 1902 and the publication of an image of the slide on August 1, 1903, in Evening Star (Washington DC)[3][4] The first bamboo slide at Coney Island opened for business in May 1903, so it is unclear which slide was first– the playground slide or the amusement park slide.[5]
The manufacturer, Wicksteed, ballyhoo claim that the playground slide was invented by founder, Charles Wicksteed, and installed in Wicksteed Park in 1922,[6] The discovery of Wicksteed's oldest slide was announced by the company in 2013.[7]
However, this has been countered by a 1916-07-25 US Patent[8] and others who refer to a rooftop slide in NYC c.1900,[9] the nursery slide of the young Tsar Alexei,[10] at Alexander Palace in Tsarkoye Selo built around 1910, the 45-foot (13.7m) slide at the Smith Memorial Playground in Philadelphia, which was installed in 1904 (renovated and reopened in 2005), or the Coney Island Slide around 1905.[11][12]
Indeed, Arthur Leyland's book "Playground Technique and Playcraft", volume 1, originally published in 1909 and revised in 1913, gives full instructions for the construction of a metal playground slide.[13]
A spiral slide is a playground slide that is wrapped around a central pole to form a descending spiral forming a simple helter skelter.
A wavy slide is a slide that has waves in its shape, causing the person sliding to go up and down slightly while descending.
A tube slide is simply a slide in the form of a tube. It can also curve or have bumps.
A straight slide is a flat slide that just goes down at a slight angle.
A roller slide is a slide made of horizontal cylinders which spin underneath the person sliding as they travel down.
Amusement-park slides are just larger versions of the playground slide, much higher and with multiple parallel slideways. Participants may be provided with a sack to sit on to reduce friction for higher speeds and to protect clothing.
Drop slides are slides with a vertical or nearly vertical drop (nicknamed the death slide or free-fall slide).
Water slides are a type of slide that water streams down to create a slippery slide; found near water, generally in water parks or pools.
Inflatable Slides are a type of slide that is continuously blown up by an exterior blower. The air flow allows the slide to be softer than traditional slides. They are also used on airplanes during an emergency evacuation and they are known as evacuation slides.
Ice Slides a type of slide that is made with ice.
There are several other different types and styles of slides.
Slides can also be sub-classified as either free-standing slides, slides that stand on their own, or composite slides, which are slides that are connected to another or several pieces of playground equipment.
Playground slides are associated with several types of injury. The most obvious is that when a slide is not enclosed and is elevated above the playground surface, then users may fall off and incur bumps, bruises, sprains, broken bones, or traumatic head injuries. Some materials, such as metal, may become very hot during warm, sunny weather. Plastic slides can also be vulnerable to melting by arson.
Some efforts to keep children safe on slides may do more harm than good. Rather than letting young children play on slides by themselves, some parents seat the children on the adult's lap and go down the slide together.[15] If the child's shoe catches on the edge of the slide, however, this arrangement frequently results in the child's leg being broken.[15] If the child had been permitted to use the slide independently, then this injury would not happen, because when the shoe caught, the child would have stopped sliding rather than being propelled down the slide by the adult's weight.[15]
Gold, David L. (1 January 1981). "Three New-York-Cityisms: Sliding Pond, Potsy, and Akey". American Speech. 56 (1): 17–32. doi:10.2307/454476. JSTOR454476.
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.
A water slide is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at swimming pools or water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to sit directly on the slide, or on a raft or tube designed to be used with the slide.
Shoot the chute is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume or super flume, which generally seats up to eight passengers, a modern-day shoot-the-chute ride generally has larger boats seating at least four across.
Wicksteed Park is a Grade II listed park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England, which includes an amusement park within its grounds. The park is located in the south-east of Kettering, on the western edge of Barton Seagrave village. The park is owned by the Wicksteed Charitable Trust, with the amusement park being run by its trading subsidiary company Wicksteed Park Ltd.
A helter skelter, or helter-skelter lighthouse, is an amusement ride resembling a lighthouse with a spiral shaped slide built around the tower. Typically, fairgoers climb up a flight of stairs inside the tower and slide down the spiral on the outside using a coir mat. The ride is most prevalent in amusement parks and fairgrounds in the United Kingdom.
A swing is a seat or platform, suspended from chains, ropes, or bars, on which one or more people can swing back and forth for enjoyment or relaxation. Swings are a common piece of equipment at children's playgrounds and may also be found in yards or gardens, on porches, inside homes, or as freestanding public play equipment like the Estonian village swing. Swings have a long history in many different parts of the world and come in various types.
Luna Park was an amusement park that operated in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, United States, from 1903 to 1944. The park was located on a site bounded by Surf Avenue to the south, West 8th Street to the east, Neptune Avenue to the north, and West 12th Street to the west. Luna Park was located partly on the grounds of the small park it replaced, Sea Lion Park, which operated between 1895 and 1902. It was the second of the three original, very large, iconic parks built on Coney Island; the others were Steeplechase Park and Dreamland. At Coney Island's peak in the middle of the 20th century's first decade, the three amusement parks competed with each other and with many independent amusements.
Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Opened in 1908, it is the oldest amusement park in Colorado still operating in its original location, and is the lone remaining American amusement park to have had the name White City. The park, comprising nearly half of the Town of Lakeside that it was responsible for creating in 1907, features the landmark Tower of Jewels.
Canobie Lake Park is an amusement park in Salem, New Hampshire, located about 31 miles (50 km) north of Boston. It was founded as a trolley park on the shore of Canobie Lake in 1902. Three local families currently run the park, which draws visitors from throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. Canobie Lake Park's age and history inspired author Stephen King to use rides and elements from the park in his Joyland novel. It is one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the United States as of 2021.
Inflatable castles are temporary inflatable structures and buildings and similar items. They are rented for backyard and block party functions, school and church festivals and village fetes and used for recreational purposes. The growth in the use of such devices has led to a rental industry that includes inflatable slides, inflatable water slides, obstacle courses, and giant games, carnival games, and more.
Idora Park (1899–1984) was an amusement park in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, also known as "Youngstown's Million Dollar Playground."
Charles I. D. Looff was a Danish master carver and builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. Looff built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. During his lifetime, he built over 40 carousels, several amusements parks, numerous roller coasters and Ferris wheels, and built California's famous Santa Monica Pier. He became famous for creating the unique Coney Island style of carousel carving.
Waldameer Park & Water World is an amusement park and water park at the base of Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Waldameer is the fourth oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, the tenth oldest in the nation, and one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the country. It is home to several notable rides, including the Ravine Flyer II roller coaster.
Sea Lion Park was a 16-acre (65,000 m2) amusement park started in 1895 on Coney Island by Paul Boyton. He fenced the property and charged admission, the park becoming the first enclosed and permanent amusement park in North America. Up until the establishment of this park, amusement areas around the country consisted of pay-as-you-go concessions. In 1903, Sea Lion Park was replaced by Luna Park.
Wildwood Amusement Park was an amusement park and picnic ground that existed from 1889 to 1932 on the southeast shore of White Bear Lake in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States. The park was built and operated by the Minneapolis and St. Paul Suburban Railroad Company, a subdivision of the Twin City Rapid Transit Company, which ran a streetcar line from Mahtomedi to nearby St. Paul. It was the sister park of Big Island Amusement Park on Lake Minnetonka, as both were intended to draw crowds of people to opposite ends of the Minneapolis-St. Paul streetcar system on weekends. Wildwood Amusement Park proved to be more successful than Big Island Amusement Park, which closed in 1911, and lasted until 1932 when financial losses brought about its demise.
White City is the common name of dozens of amusement parks in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Inspired by the White City and Midway Plaisance sections of the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893, the parks started gaining in popularity in the last few years of the 19th century. After the 1901 Pan-American Exposition inspired the first Luna Park in Coney Island, a frenzy in building amusement parks ensued in the first two decades of the 20th century.
Toshimaen (としまえん) was an amusement park in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan, owned by the Seibu Group. It had a variety of rides, including three roller coasters, and a water park with 25 slides and six pools. It closed permanently on August 31, 2020 and was redeveloped into Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter which opened on June 16, 2023.
A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people with disabilities. A playground might exclude children below a certain age.
Fort George Amusement Park was a trolley park and amusement park that operated in the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan, New York City, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It occupied an area between 190th and 192nd Streets east of Amsterdam Avenue, within present-day Highbridge Park.
George Cornelius Tilyou (1862–1914) was an American entrepreneur and showman who founded New York City's Steeplechase Park. Born in New York City, his parents had operated businesses in Coney Island from his early childhood. He founded Steeplechase in 1897, and rebuilt it entirely after a 1907 fire. Tilyou died in 1914, leaving the park to his children, who continued to operate it until 1964.
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