SBoarder Editor Just imagine: You're climbing a 350 ft. lift hill into the sky that seems almost endless. As you creep slowly over the top of the hill, a loud clicking sound is heard as it releases your train onto its course. Before you know it, your train is racing down the first drop, plunging into oblivion. Although 350 ft. may seem a little farfetched, rides of today have proven that a drop this long is more than possible; it's able to be taken to the next level. Xcerlerator at Knott's Berry Farm soars through the park at speeds of 82 MPH, while Supreme Scream takes riders up 250 ft. into the sky. In the early days of roller coasters, the competition was high among the standard wooden-track coaster, with parks boasting rides featuring drops of over 40-50 feet tall. These days, the concept of a double digit height measurement for a coaster drop almost seems laughable. As humans, it is an all natural liquid that gives us that "rush" while speeding down a steep hill, feeling weightlessness, or being turned upside-down in the most mind-boggling loops. This liquid pumping through our system is known as adrenaline- the name itself sends chills down our spine. Because of the human need for that certain "rush," it is only valid that the higher and faster a ride is; the better that feeling will be. Amusement parks, and ride designers around the world have a goal to fulfill our fear enticing experience when riding a coaster, in other words: parks and ride manufacturers make their money by scaring us silly. But what are the limits to designing a roller coaster these days? To put it simply: there are none. Superman: Ultimate Escape launches riders 360 degrees, 180 ft. in the air. In fact, the only "limit" any ride designer has is how much a park is willing fork over to build a new superlative to exploit for the big bucks. Cedar Point Amusement Park recently completed construction of their newest ride called Top Thrill Dragster that claims to be the world's tallest, fastest coaster. Towering over the park at a record-breaking 420 ft. high, the ride launches riders 0-120 mph in approximately 4 seconds! At the peak of the ride's tallest point, people will get a chance to look down 100 feet on the park's previous installation, Millennium Force, which once held the record for the tallest lift at 310 ft.. For the thrill seekers out there, this, and many other new rides are sure to be crowd pleasers. It is, in other people's eyes posting a threat to the mental capacity one should be able to take. It is not only a frightening experience to reluctant people, but also a terror, in that a drop from 420 ft. in the air could quite possibly put one into shock. As rides continue to rise higher, they certainly propose a certain controversy that threatens its existence entirely. Should somebody put rules and regulations to stop rides at a certain height? The answer is quite simply, no. Because the enthusiast to reluctant rider ratio is enormously in favor of those who want to ride, parks and designers around the world continue to engineer the steel monsters of terror we love. If you look at it closely, the explanation to all the hype over roller coasters is quite simple. People love to pay $45 dollars for a ticket to be scarred to an extent that the brain interprets a death defying experience. And as long as people are willing to hand over the money, the amusement park industry will continue building fear-producing machines taller, faster, longer, and ultimately more terrorizing than ever. -SBoarder