The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Roller coasters may seem like a very modern type of entertainment—constantly ...

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I have been phobic about roller coasters since I was 4 when my dad took me on the Galaxi in Seattle Center's Fun Forest. I wailed the entire ride, especially as the coaster lurched up the "Chain Lift ...

Roller coasters may seem like a very modern type of entertainment – constantly getting bigger, faster and scarier thanks to advances in technology. But they actually date back to the mid-1800s.