How it Works: A Computerized, Looping Waterslide
The Scorpion's Tail Graham MurdochThis waterslide does a gut-flipping--yet safe--loop-de-loop This summer, Noah's Ark Water Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, opens the country's only looping waterslide. The Scorpion's Tail gives you the thrills of a roller coaster without having to strap to a track (or wear a shirt)-and it uses sophisticated engineering to keep you secure as you slip any which way. Riders stick to the walls because the loop travels a tilted angle, not a straight-up-and-down line that could drop people on their heads. Then there's the computerized control system, exit hatch and host of sensors to make sure riders splash out intact. The timid can take extra comfort in knowing that the engineering firm behind the Tail, WhiteWater West, based it on a design that's been up and running danger-free for two summers in Europe. And the ride allows for vicarious kicks, too: As daredevils zoom by...