"There are several efficient methods for killing a man were you to find yourself without a weapon. The edge of your hand, against your adversary's Adam's apple. This will crush his windpipe, causing strangulation and death. [demonstrates on a volunteer, then realizes what he's done] Shit! I need another volunteer!"
— Instructor Jenks, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, by Chuck Barris
For example, take the Bailey Ball, which was designed by a Canadian janitor Gene Mulvihill bumped into one day. The guy mentioned he had an idea for a ride where people shot down a 600-foot slope inside a giant plastic ball. He'd apparently come up with the idea after spilling a bunch of Wiffle balls on the floor at K-Mart. Gene told him to get down to Action Park and start building it immediately. When the famously lax local safety inspector came to check it out, a semi-willing park employee was shoved inside to act as a guinea pig. Unfortunately, the ball quickly jumped off its track, which zigzagged carefully down the mountain, and began shooting down the nearly vertical slope at incredible speed, heading straight for Gene and the stunned safety inspector, who dove out of the way at the last second.
By this point, the employee inside the ball was screaming hysterically, but the plastic ball masked the sound, so stunned onlookers could just see a silently screaming face zoom by with every rotation. The ball shot all the way through Action Park's parking lot, ramped a small hill, and flew by a stunned construction crew, then bounced right across the Interstate, bringing traffic screeching to a halt. It eventually crash-landed in a pond, sending boats flying into the air with the impact. The hysterical tester was dragged out covered in blood. The ball did not pass its safety inspection.
By this point, the employee inside the ball was screaming hysterically, but the plastic ball masked the sound, so stunned onlookers could just see a silently screaming face zoom by with every rotation. The ball shot all the way through Action Park's parking lot, ramped a small hill, and flew by a stunned construction crew, then bounced right across the Interstate, bringing traffic screeching to a halt. It eventually crash-landed in a pond, sending boats flying into the air with the impact. The hysterical tester was dragged out covered in blood. The ball did not pass its safety inspection.
