Would you hop into a raft going down Niagara Falls? Because if you wouldn't do that, you probably aren't going to ride this water slide either: It's taller than Niagara Falls, and it looks more dangerous than Niagara Falls. But hey, let's not jump to conclusions.
To put things in perspective, the Statue of Liberty is 151 feet tall. This slide is 168 feet and 7 inches tall. The raft to which the riders are velcroed (you call that safety?!) is said to reach speeds of 65 mph. You also have to climb 264 stairs to reach the top of the slide. HAHA NOPE. No thank you. Count us out.
We get the gist of it:
In a terrifying POV video, waterpark designer Jeff Henry and the ride's engineer, John Schooley, are the first to test the water slide, aptly named The Verrückt (German for "The Crazy"). The waterslide is located in Kansas City, Kan., though the grand opening has been pushed back time and time again. We can't begin to imagine why...
This act is especially insane after you watch this video released by the Travel Channel about the slide's construction (below). A raft literally is launched into the air and you can hear an onlooker say, "When the rafts are loaded with more than 1,000 pounds, the ride becomes unsafe." Um, The Verrückt's website says that four people are required per raft?! That seems terrifyingly close to 1,000 pounds.
It's cool now though, because maybe the recently added netting around the slide will prevent you from falling to your death. If you feel like putting your life in the hands of some fishnet, be our guest. Maybe after a million more safety runs, we'll reconsider, but we make no promises.