Many a carnival sideshow and Penny arcade contained what type of amusement?
b8e641c2716cdd5ce448c62c6d49e30d
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, is devoted to a huge collection of coin-operated animatronic dummies, mechanical games and other oddities. Exhibits include, for example, the classic gypsy Fortune teller machine that used to grace many a carnival sideshow. Most of the machines still function, so visitors are encouraged to bring change. The museum's founder, Marvin Yagoda, had been collecting the items that populate the 5500 sqft museum for 50 years. Yagoda was a recognized expert in the field of mechanical and electrical game apparatus; he has been involved in appraisal of such items for the television series "American Pickers". Marvin Yagoda died on January 8, 2017 at the age of 78.
7a004155896e1100cd33ee751b59a1cf
Fortune teller machine A fortune teller machine is a type of amusement, which upon receiving credit gives out a card with a prediction of the reader's future. They could be found in penny arcades, and can be seen in modern video arcades and amusement parks.
f69925fba7119fa0d07e7354cc4d6c43
Pier 39 Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of California sea lions hauled out on docks on Pier 39's marina. The marina is also home to the floating Forbes Island restaurant. A two-story carousel is one of the pier's more dominant features, although it is not directly visible from the street and sits towards the end of the pier. The family-oriented entertainment and presence of marine mammals make this a popular tourist location for families with kids.
a1940dadbbd77c993ac8ebbed375e4f2
Antique toy show An Antique toy show is one of several toy shows held throughout the United States (and around the world), usually on an annual basis, that is devoted to the exhibition, for sale, of antique toys, dolls and collectible paraphernalia. Toy shows are generally regional in nature, and cater to a certain geographic area of the country. The larger shows, such as the Miami Antique Toy Show and the Chicago Toy Show and the Greater Boston Antique and Collectible Toy Show encompass a broader clientele.
3feee2b811c8c76db04c229aece27661
Village Roadshow Theme Parks Village Roadshow Theme Parks is a division of Village Roadshow Limited which operates theme parks and attractions in Australia and the United States of America. The Sydney Attractions Group Pty Ltd was formerly part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks; however, it was sold in 2011 to Merlin Entertainments.
afab971d07ba8955a491733685f6ec51
Circus (building) The Roman circus (from Latin, "circle") was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. The circuses were similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes, although circuses served varying purposes and differed in design and construction. Along with theatres and amphitheatres, Circuses were one of the main entertainment sites of the time. Circuses were venues for chariot races, horse races, and performances that commemorated important events of the empire were performed there.
010e421e351bbb85623cd33f046aa6d3
VR Coaster A VR Coaster is a special kind of amusement park ride attraction, consisting of a roller coaster facility or ride that can be experienced with virtual reality headsets. The term VR Coaster derives from the abbreviation of virtual reality and roller coaster. The first publicly operated VR Coasters have been opened in late 2015. Since then, several theme parks all over the world have been adapting this technology to extend their existing coaster facilities.
2af4a6ff250218c109b16c813fb32510
Twist (ride) The Twist or Twister is an amusement ride in which suspended riders spinning in cars experience centrifugal force, while spinning along two separate axes. Riders are seated in small carriages clustered together and connected by beams at the top to a central point. The clustered vehicles are spun in one direction, while the ride as a whole spins in the opposite direction. There are a number of variations of the design.
f7bd77f74ec8180f0de95f747c63c17d
Allan Herschell Company The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the town of North Tonawanda, just outside Buffalo, New York, US.
9a9a5f82fd0f489bb09553d4e4d5fd1b
Pin Pan Alley Pin Pan Alley was a chain of amusement arcades originally owned by Burton Popowcer, then sold in 1983 to Bally Amusements. It was later acquired by the Hilton Group. It operated numerous arcades throughout the Midwest from the late 1970s until the early 1990s. Its games included actual pinball machines, video consoles and some redemption games and other games.
94978496ec21766fa778407e174fb8e5
Itbox itbox is a networked gambling games terminal which is found in thousands of pubs, leisure centres and amusement arcades in the United Kingdom. Classified as a "skill with prizes" (SWP) machine, each itbox terminal typically includes 25 different games. Each game costs 50p or £1 to play and lasts between 10 seconds and several minutes. From most of these games it is possible to win modest cash prizes. Although strictly the name 'itbox' refers only to Leisure Link-made terminals, the name is often casually applied as a genericized trademark to other SWP terminals such as Paragon SWP, Gamesnet, and Fatbox.
0d47f6a03feaa8a184956947e6289c31
Sesame Place Sesame Place is a children's theme park, located on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based on the "Sesame Street" television program. It includes a variety of rides, shows, and water attractions suited to young children. It is one of 11 parks owned and operated by SeaWorld Entertainment with a license from Sesame Workshop (formerly known as Children's Television Workshop).
6261a4f1d8cbe0a8b2544f3c3639b6b6
Roller coaster inversion A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them to an upright position. Early forms of inversions, dating as far back as 1848 on the Centrifugal Railway in Paris, were vertical loops that were circular in nature. They produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders, and as a result, the element eventually became non-existent with the last rides to feature the looping inversions being dismantled during the Great Depression. In 1975, designers from Arrow Development created the corkscrew, reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Since then, the element have evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. Featuring fourteen inversions, The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster.
18285757f6555dd0a25d5ae406ab36cb
Medicine show Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) which peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European mountebank shows and were common in the United States in the nineteenth century, especially in the Old West (though some continued until World War II). They usually promoted "miracle elixirs" (sometimes referred to as snake oil), which, it was claimed, had the ability to cure any disease, smooth wrinkles, remove stains, prolong life or cure any number of common ailments. Most shows had their own patent medicine (these medicines were for the most part unpatented but took the name to sound official). Entertainments often included a freak show, a flea circus, musical acts, magic tricks, jokes, or storytelling. Each show was run by a man posing as a doctor who drew the crowd with a monologue. The entertainers, such as acrobats, musclemen, magicians, dancers, ventriloquists, exotic performers, and trick shots, kept the audience engaged until the salesman sold his medicine.
454060b4098fa8685caa9db0ba6ed838
Devil's wheel A Devil's wheel, Teufelsrad, Human Roulette Wheel or Joy Wheel is an amusement ride at public festivals and fairs. Devil's wheels have been used at Oktoberfest celebrations since at least 1910.
3396b01e4174b0161b8f2c1440263627
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel Prince Charming Regal Carrousel (formerly Cinderella's Golden Carrousel) is a carousel in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. Similar attractions under varying names can be found at two other Disney Parks, including Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. It plays organ-based versions of Disney music during the two-minute ride period. Hand-painted scenes from "Cinderella" can be seen on the top; hence the name "Prince Charming".
e4f130843cbf28d330b8503e16acf2b7
Old Chicago Old Chicago was a combination shopping mall and indoor amusement park that existed in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Illinois, from 1975 until 1980. It was billed as "The world's first indoor amusement park", and it was intended to draw visitors all year round, rain or shine. It opened to great fanfare and over 15,000 visitors on June 17, 1975, with an enormous building that housed major rides, such as two roller coasters and a Ferris wheel, as well as a turn-of-the-century themed shopping mall. However, only six months after opening, the complex ran into financial troubles due to construction cost overruns. The opening of a competing amusement park in the same general region (known today as Six Flags Great America) hurt attendance, and the lack of large anchor stores failed to draw enough local and repeat shoppers. Despite management changes, the center continued to lose money. By 1978, the mall began closing on Mondays and Tuesdays and in early 1980 the entire amusement park shut down and the rides were sold, only five years after opening. Efforts to find alternative uses for the huge building failed, and the structure was demolished in the spring of 1986.
a75b66553636f60a921182bd2b5abb5c
Caterpillar (ride) The Caterpillar ride is a vintage flat ride engineered by the inventor Hyla F. Maynes of North Tonawanda, New York who dubbed it the Caterpillar when it debuted in Coney Island, NY in 1925 generates a decent helping of centrifugal force, causing the riders on the inside of the seats to crush the riders on the outside of the seats. It was once found at nearly every amusement park around the USA, but is now so rare that an original Caterpillar ride can only be found operating in two parks today. Though only two Caterpillars are known to be operating, there have been reports claiming there are additional Caterpillars in storage or standing (but not operating) at a few other parks.
c4748cb8bdb6467709537cf66bcebb9b
Bohemian Prater The Bohemian Prater (German: "Böhmischer Prater" ) is a small amusement park at the edge of Vienna. It dates to the second half of the 19th century, and some of the rides are more than 100 years old. The name is derived from the larger Wiener (Viennese) Prater.
d522bf9eaa683dd168127acc62411928
Animal theme park An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of a theme park and a zoological park, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed entertainment and amusement rides, with classic zoo elements such as live animals confined within enclosures for display. Many times, live animals are utilized and featured as part of amusement rides and attractions found at animal theme parks.
5efa61096788e2e94bdabd0658230ffe
Hanna-Barbera in amusement parks Through its history, Hanna-Barbera has operated theme park attractions, mostly as a section in Kings Island, Carowinds, California's Great America, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland, and recently, Six Flags Great America.
579484f5cf14795819b8f6d5efc27c2a
Mareorama The Mareorama was an entertainment attraction at the 1900 Paris Exposition. It was created by Hugo d'Alesi, a painter of advertising posters, and was a combination of moving panoramic paintings and a large motion platform. It is regarded as one of the last major developments in the technology of panoramas, shortly before the medium became obsolete.