Inverted Waterslides, Speedo Not Included

Waterslide rides have come a long way from the wavy, bumpy, numbers that you'd ride down on a little squishy mat while water sprinkled over you -- now they come with sheer drops and gallons of water flushing you down long curvy tubes, spitting you out into a giant pool with such force that your bathing suit comes loose. Next up in the world of water slides: the inverted loop. Europe and Asia already have one of their own loop-de-loop slides, and by all reports, waterpark-goers are loving the fear-factor that comes with hitting an almost upside-down loop in thinnish plastic tubes.

('’)

The AquaLoop is in production at two waterparks in the U.S.—in Wisconsin, at Noah’s Park, and in Vermont, at Jay Peak. The ride starts at 55 feet high, and once you step into the chamber, a electronic voice counts down from three to zero when the floor drops out, you plummet 40 feet, then make the famous loop at 40 MPH, hitting 2.5 Gs. If you want to stay decently covered in the ride, consider wearing a one-piece; any bikinis will be rendered into a topless thong in 2 seconds flat.