A Rollercoaster Designed to Kill Humanely

[El]

A Rollercoaster Designed to Kill Humanely

By Architecture / IO, 20 Apr 2011
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It’s a ride definitely not for the faint-hearted—a PhD candidate in Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art has designed a hypothetical rollercoaster meant to kill.

Julijonas Urbonas created his coaster as a hypothetical euthanasia machine; it will, he claims, take lives as humanely and euphorically as possible.

“Riding the coaster’s track, the rider is subjected to a series of intensive motion elements that induce various unique experiences: from euphoria to thrill, and from tunnel vision to loss of consciousness and, eventually, death,” he wrote on his website.

The 500-meter structure is designed to kill its rider from cerebral hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen supply to the brain.

Urbonas said he was inspired to create the rollercoaster by a quote from John Allen, former president of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company: “The ultimate rollercoaster is built when you send out 24 people and they all come back dead. This could be done, you know.”

[midlifeaspie]

It doesn't look long enough

[midlifeaspie]

At least 5 minutes to accomplish death from hypoxia, not just brain damage.  500 meters of track over 5 minutes is 100 m/minute or 3 mph.  You can't get the proper g forces to create hypoxia at walking speed.

[Parts]

What a great way to go dizzy and vomiting on yourself

[Icequeen]

I hate rollercoasters.

[El]

It doesn't look long enough

that's what she said

[bodie]

a lot of thought went into it

but it would be easier to just take out the seatbelts on another rollercoaster!

[midlifeaspie]

It doesn't look long enough

that's what she said

Nobody likes getting poked in an ovary

[Pyraxis]

At least 5 minutes to accomplish death from hypoxia, not just brain damage.  500 meters of track over 5 minutes is 100 m/minute or 3 mph.  You can't get the proper g forces to create hypoxia at walking speed.

Does it mean 500m of track or 500m high?

[Calavera]

I'm like Super Bacteria that'll survive anything.

Bring it on!

[El]

I'm like Super Bacteria that'll survive anything.

Bring it on!

[ZEGH8578]

Speaking of surviving-everything.
I've been on an airplane, where the landing gear suddenly would not respond, and we had to circle for 2 hours to dump fuel (so to avoid a fireball crashlanding. Nice to know! We explained it to an old lady next to us, sort of to share our death-angst with her!)
It then got fixed. Yay!
And we landed

 

[midlifeaspie]

At least 5 minutes to accomplish death from hypoxia, not just brain damage.  500 meters of track over 5 minutes is 100 m/minute or 3 mph.  You can't get the proper g forces to create hypoxia at walking speed.

Does it mean 500m of track or 500m high?

The height of the model is about equal to the total length so I'm not sure it matters.  Even if it was 5,000m you are still dealing with 30 MPH which I still wouldn't think is enough.

[El]

OK, fine, put a sharp blade at the end of it; turn it into a guillotine.  Problem solved.

[Calavera]

I'm like Super Bacteria that'll survive anything.

Bring it on!