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Post by rockynv on Dec 21, 2016 5:17:31 GMT -5
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Post by SylvreKat on Dec 22, 2016 10:47:25 GMT -5
1) although it was very gentlemanly of the guy at :30 to give the lady a push-start, why does he have a jumpsuit and some kind of helmet, while she has street clothes and no headgear?
2) what is with taking lions with you on this thing?
3) does anyone still operate a Wall of Death?
>'Kat, going nowhere near the inside of one of these things with Peej!
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Post by rockynv on Dec 22, 2016 12:51:55 GMT -5
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 23, 2016 1:58:10 GMT -5
1) although it was very gentlemanly of the guy at :30 to give the lady a push-start, why does he have a jumpsuit and some kind of helmet, while she has street clothes and no headgear? 2) what is with taking lions with you on this thing? 3) does anyone still operate a Wall of Death? >'Kat, going nowhere near the inside of one of these things with Peej! I don't know about that lion... Certainly would add some excitement if it got frisky during the ride! Anything to add more danger was considered a plus back then... I'm sure the more macho of the riders must have tossed kerosene around the wall, setting it on fire to enhance the experience! I'm old enough to have known a couple of the old geezers who rode the "wall of death". Certainly dangerous (I never tried it so I can't say from experience)... But they told me it was not too difficult once you got practiced at it. I was particularly impressed by the gals doing it sidesaddle, no hands... Whew! Back in the early days, decent helmets didn't even exist... Just leather aviator skull-caps which only kept your brains available for the autopsy. Even when rudimentary helmets did arrive, old-timers shunned them as being "sissy"... Like early WWI pilots attitude toward parachutes... duh... I'm sure anything as popular as the wall of death MUST still be around. Nowadays though, it's often a steel-mesh ball, and the riders go "round and round" and also "loop the loop" often with several riders blasting between each other looping and circling. Now THAT really IS dangerous!Too much testosterone for this old guy... I limit my scooter thrills to the occasional nose-dive down a steep freeway entrance ramp, seeing if I can get the old mouse past the  -mark... LOL! I actually DID get her to 99 on the speedo once (with a tailwind) and that's an honest 96-mph. Those little 12" wheels must have been doing 8K rpm... 
Ride safe, there are splinters waiting in that wall of death!Leo in Texas |
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Post by rockynv on Dec 23, 2016 5:23:36 GMT -5
Example of early French Safety Helmet:  Can't understand why they didn't become more popular. ;> |
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Post by SylvreKat on Dec 23, 2016 9:44:44 GMT -5
Aw, thanks Leo. I forgot about the steel balls. I've seen those on tv. I think a family even did it on Am's Got Talent one year. Looked massively terrifying!! Dad used to have an old-old football "helmet", dunno from his youth or maybe from his dad. It had ear protection and that was really about it. Amazing that anyone survived these things (football, Walls of Death, etc) with what amounted to no protection  >"Kat |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 23, 2016 19:00:13 GMT -5
Aw, thanks Leo. I forgot about the steel balls. I've seen those on tv. I think a family even did it on Am's Got Talent one year. Looked massively terrifying!! Dad used to have an old-old football "helmet", dunno from his youth or maybe from his dad. It had ear protection and that was really about it. Amazing that anyone survived these things (football, Walls of Death, etc) with what amounted to no protection >"Kat
Yeah, survival in the early days of motor-power IS amazing! Seems like more riders, flyers, football players and such did better back then than today, with our new equipment. Obviously, people were smaller (having less "kinetic energy" in an impact). Being "goofy" from head injuries was not really noticed much, and a "normal" life-span was as short as 45 years in many cases. So... early death from consequences of injury may often have been considered "natural causes"... Like a civil-rights worker getting shot in the forties: "...round THESE parts, gettin' shot IS a "natural cause of death" for carpetbaggers pokin' their noses into stuff what ain't their business..."
I was fortunate years ago, to have known an old (very old) WWI pilot who flew in France. He worked his way to Europe on a tramp steamer when he was 9 years old and joined the French Air Force at 11... They'd take ANYBODY willing to fly against the Hun... He crashed while attempting to solo, and cracked his head wide open... The French "surgeons" drained the blood from the "helmet" and then, expertly left his leather skull-cap on, buckled tight to keep his brains in until his skull healed... Whew! What marvelous 1917 medical technique! Musta worked, 'cause he was 101 when I met him and he made it many more years! I asked the feisty old codger what he attributed his long, healthy life to. He growled: "...Plenty of good red meat, Cuban cigars and a fifth of Jack Daniel's a day..." Hmmm... "OH, and, yeah, a good bar-room brawl at least once a month. Keeps me quick and spry...".
Even today, death from football injuries is not uncommon in high-school, college AND the pro-leagues. It's kept pretty quiet though until somebody captures the event on a cell-phone camera.
Ride safe, and keep yer' head inside that helmet!Leo |
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Post by mftic on Dec 27, 2016 11:24:32 GMT -5
3) does anyone still operate a Wall of Death? Just watched Jay Leno's Garage and he was in the middle of one. Guys riding it were definitly old school. Pretty cool. |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 29, 2016 22:22:54 GMT -5
Ah, I think maybe there were more steel balls involved than just the cages... LOL! Those old guys were mighty macho!
Just sayin'...
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-mark... LOL! I actually DID get her to 99 on the speedo once (with a tailwind) and that's an honest 96-mph. Those little 12" wheels must have been doing 8K rpm... 
