Page:Popular Mechanics 1928 01.pdf/61

 

of amusement-park devices gamble on human nature. And human nature is a queer fish. No one knows when it is going to bite. Consider the case of William F. Mangels. He has been the inventor of amusement-park devices ever since he was a boy and has more than fifty patents to his credit. He built the "Razzle-Dazzle," the "Tickler" and the "Whip." The latter is a device of cars, fastened on a drive, which travel comfortably along a flat track until they get to the end of a straight run, when they whip around the corner with a sharp snap, from which it takes its name. It was tried out in Luna park, Coney island, in 1914, and has since traveled all over the world. The royalties on it have amounted to $300,000.

But last year Mangels got the biggest idea of all. It was much better than the "Whip" and had a novelty which the public had never seen. He drew up his blueprints, got in his best builders and mechanies and set to work It was to be the biggest and finest achievement of his life. At last the device was done and it fell as flat as a porous plaster.

"Why did it fail?" I asked him.

"Because it was paced too slowly. I was ten years late."

The public wants speed, he explained. The automobile has completely revolutionized riding devices. People used to be willing to poke along, but now when they go out for a good time they want it quick and fast.

Returning to the "Whip," the idea back of it has intrigued many an inventor. The favorite plan has been to add to the thrills and give the public an extra motion. One is to make the car, when it whips around the corner, turn completely around. One inventor added an up-and-down motion. The funeral was impressive. The reason was that a person out for pleasure can't 