Zipper (ride)

Popular at carnivals and fairs in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand, it features strong vertical G-forces, numerous spins, and a noted sense of unpredictability.

[1][2] Most models of the Zipper follow a similar basic format: A long, rotating, oblong boom with a cable around its edge that pulls 12 cars around the ride.

Each passenger capsule is essentially a bench seat that snugly fits two people, built into a compartment of metal mesh contoured to protect the riders' entire bodies.

The odd, apostrophe-shaped capsules, spaced evenly along the perimeter of the boom, look very much like the rows of interlocking teeth on a zipper, the characteristic for which the ride was named.

If the riders shift enough body weight in one direction, they may be able to flip the car even when the boom and the attached cable are motionless.

On September 7, 1977, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a public warning, urging carnival-goers not to ride the Zipper after four deaths occurred due to compartment doors opening mid-ride.

Despite these new safety features, the same scenario was repeated in July 2006 in Hinckley, Minnesota, when two teenage girls were ejected from their compartment as the door swung open.

Their door was apparently not properly closed by the operator who admitted to local law enforcement that he had not inserted the safety pin (R-Key) before starting the ride.

The manufacturer's concern was that a person riding alone might turn sideways in the seat and remove their legs from underneath the lap bar, risking serious injury as the capsule spun.

[10] In Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Greg Heffley rides a version of the Zipper called "Cranium Shaker".