The AFU and Urban Legend Archive
Misc
 waterslide




From: mtepper@panix.com (Michele Tepper)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Popular Australian legend : razorblades stuck on Giant waterslides. Is this true?
Date: 6 May 1996 10:20:04 -0400

In article <4ml0iu$3l6@panix2.panix.com>, Bo Bradham <bradham@panix.com> wrote: >CybernetCafe <cybercaf@hilink.com.au> wrote:
>>In the early 80's I was scared of the idea of going on waterslides as a
>>kid as there was this story going around of some mean kid sticking razor
>>blades to the sides of the tubes, causing some kids to get cut.
>>
>>was there ever such a Kid?
>
>Just this weekend I was browsing through Brunvand's ouvre and I
>saw an entry in the index of one of his books about this one.
>I didnt track it down because I was looking for something else at
>the time.

"Every year as summer begins and amusement parks open, it becomes the season for the re-emergence of the annual legends about deadly dangers in funhouss, tunnels of love, and carnival rides. True, accidents do happen, and occasionally some pretty bizarre ones. But amusement-park mishaps couldn't posible occur at the rate that folklore suggests, or else no insurance companies would issue liability coverage, and very few parks would survive.

Another clue that we are dealing with legends is that so many alleged accidents at such a large number of parks all supposedly stem from the same few hazards -- electrocution, razor blades, and, especially, snakes.

I'll pass over the stories describing the fatal ast step onto the electrified rail of a ride, **as well as those stories about razor blades said to be stuck with chewing gum on the water slides by vandals**, because these stories -- common as they are -- seldom show much imagination or variation in their details."

So while Brunvand doesn't actually debunk this, the dismissive treatment suggests that you're safe on the slides this summer.

Michele "and most excellent waterslides" Tepper


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