Roller coasters, or scream machines, as they were long ago called, began as Russian Ice Slides back in the mid-seventeenth century. They ranged from 50 to 80 feet high, were covered in ice, and spanned several hundred feet. People in sleds flew down at breakneck speed, a bit like today's toboggan runs. Their notoriety continued through Europe and showed up in the mountains of Pennsylvania around 1872.
The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway ran fast and furious down the mountain rail and carried around 35,000 passengers a year until 1929 when the railroad stopped it.
Today, roller coasters, are technological feats of the most impossible twists, turns, loops and gravity-defying thrills. Amusement parks such as Kings Island, Six Flags, Disney World and Busch Gardens house most of them. They are engineering marvels that owe their legacy to a cold, fast ride on a slide.
Take a look at the amazing history of rollercoasters - http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/history/
