carnival fun facts from ferris wheels to cotton candy (2024)

Did you know . . .

• Carnivals consist of games, rides, shows, feasting, and overall merriment, which developed from the traditional outdoor festivals of Europe in honor of seasonal changes or religious holidays that date back hundreds of years ago.

• Fairs are large theme based events held to promote and present agricultural, commercial, industrial, and artistic exhibits to fairgoers while also providing the fun and amusem*nt of carnivals.

• The traveling carnival began in America in the late 1800’s as a result of the Columbian Exposition and improved transportation and technology.

• A famous American carnival is the Mardi Gras, which is held in late winter in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was introduced to America on March 3, 1699 by French explorer, Iberville.

• The first annual fair in the American colonies was held in 1641 in New Amsterdam (now New York City) to showcase farm products of the local area.

• The USA’s first state fair was held in Syracuse, New York in September of 1841.

• The first time that fair goers ate hot dogs and ice cream as they walked along the midway was during the Saint Louis World’s Fairin 1904, thus coining these two foods as the world’s first “fast foods”.

• The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel for the Paris World’s Fair of 1889, which honored the 100^th anniversary of the French Revolution.

• The first World’s Fair was held in 1851 in England at London’s Crystal Palace. The fair exhibited American machinery of the Industrial Revolution.

• The Ferris wheel was invented by George W. Ferris for the 1893World’s Fair, which was held in Chicago to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of Columbus’s landing in America.

• The Midway is the main path or street that fairgoers walk along to find sideshows, concession stands, and other amusem*nts.

• What we call “Cotton Candy” was originally called “Fairy Floss” and was invented in 1897 by candy makers William Morris and John C. Wharton of Nashville, Tennessee. It was introduced at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. It has also been called “Spun Sugar” and in the United Kingdom it is called “Candy Floss”.

• Games you play at a fair or carnival also go by the slang name, “joints”.

• Midnight Madness is when the fair stays open past midnight and into the early morning hours.

Fun Facts About Carnival Rides

• FERRIS WHEEL –The Ferris wheel made its debut at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. At least that’s what George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. always said. One year earlier, William Somers designed and built three wooden wheels—each measuring 50 feet in diameter—in New York and New Jersey. Both men owed a debt to the similar, yet awkwardly named, wooden “pleasure wheels” invented in 17th century Bulgaria.

• BUMPER CARS –Electric cars may seem like a modern advancement, but we’ve been driving them—and more importantly, crashing them—for a century. There’s some dispute over who invented the road-raging carnival favorite, but one thing all scholars can agree on: how difficult early versions were to steer.

• CAROUSEL –Carousels with wooden horses were first used to give horseback riding lessons to Turkish and Arabian cavalry members. When crusaders returned to Europe, they brought the device back with them. The spinning attraction became especially popular in France, where 17th century riders tried to pierce a target while moving at high speed. The power source? Actual horses!

• THE ROLLERCOASTER –Although the first patent went to LaMarcus Thompson in 1885, he wasn’t the first person to make a rollercoaster. Modern roller coasters descended from “Russian Mountains,” winter sled rides that were popular in 17th century St. Petersburg. (Situated on icy hills, the sleds topped out at 200 feet!). Meanwhile, in the states, a Pennsylvanian mining company constructed a “gravity railroad” in 1827 to move coal. But on slow workdays, they charged thrill-seekers to take it for a spin.

• TUNNEL OF LOVE –Unmarried couples of the late 19th century needed a place to canoodle in public. Love — or, at least hormones — found a way with the boom of so-called carnival “dark rides.” As couples wound through the tunnel of love by water or tracks, they were treated to alternating moments of romance (to set the mood) and fright (to encourage an arm over the shoulder).

• THE MECHANICAL BULL –Until the 1970s, mechanical bulls were strictly used to train cowboys and rodeo competitors. Early practice bulls were basically large barrels suspended from four ropes (people could jostle the barrel by tugging on the ropes or using a pulley mechanism.) The mechanical version, however, was popularized by a Texas businessman who wanted to make his bars more popular.

• THE WHIP –Patented in 1914, the first whip was made for Coney Island. The attraction—which tamely slings riders around an oval— is rare nowadays, but you can find original models scattered around some old-school parks.

• THE WIPEOUT- The giant, revolving ride that moves around, up, and down in a wave-like fashion was originally a German attraction known as the Trabant. American innovators brought a bigger and better version stateside, dubbed it The Wipeout, and the rest is history … as long as you’re 48″ tall.

• TILT-A-WHIRL –The ride that launched a thousand stomachaches sprang from the mind of woodworker and waterslide maker Herbert W. Sellner in 1926. It made its debut at the Minnesota State Fair one year later. The story goes that Sellner experimented with the ride’s design by placing a chair on his kitchen table, making his son sit in it, and then rocking the table. The ride is now manufactured in Texas.

• THE SCRAMBLER –The Twist. The Gee Whizzer. The Grasscutter. That which we call a Scrambler has many names, because naming it The Ride That Looks Like It’s Going To Collide Into Other Cars, AHHHHHH! is too cumbersome. This frightening/fun ride was first produced in the UK in 1959. Since then, each decade has given it a new name and pattern of motion, but the thrill’s the same.

• LOG FLUME –The modern log flume has been around since the early 20th century, albeit in more sedate versions. Old mill rides used tracks to guide boats through dark tunnels and over a few bunny hills. But as rollercoasters became wilder, those old mill rides had one direction to go: wetter. The splash-intensive modern versions first began surfacing in the early 1960’s.

• WAVE SWINGER –It’s easy to imagine someone looking at a carousel and thinking it may be tame. What if we took out the horses, replaced them with swings, and raised the whole thing a few hundred feet? Now we’re talking! Although swing rides were popularized in the 1970’s, they’ve been around for decades. Postcards of California’s Idora Park show a wave swinger as early as 1908!
• SHOOT THE CHUTE –People have been getting soaked on these flat-bottom boats since 1884. J.P. Newburg invented one that ran along a greased wooden track down the side of a hill in Rock Island, Illinois. It splash-landed in the Rock River and was tugged back to shore by an attendant. It’s been an amusem*nt park staple—and a great way to cool off on summer days—ever since.

• HELTER SKELTER –First seen at the UK’s Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1906, the ride is a high tower with a curling slide nestled against it. Customers climb stairs inside the tower before riding down to the bottom.

• LOOP-O-PLANE –Invented in 1933, the Loop-O-Plane ride consists of two “plane” compartments on either side of a tower that act as counterweights as they loop around one another. It was originally a flight simulator – the Cuban government even ordered some to train their pilots – but it didn’t really take off until civilians jumped in for a quick, fun ride.