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| A water ride at Luna Park, Pittsburgh, PA, 1905. LC access. |
If you're like most people...
... you've probably been to an amusement park and gone down a boat that's pulled up a steep incline, and then shot down a long ramp into water. You're splashed, everyone's wet and screaming--it's a great, good time--an American tradition of longstanding. It's an aquatic roller-coaster with waves.
What you might not know is that I learned recently that this unique form of entertainment dates back to the 1880's and was popularized in middle America around that time. It became so much a part of the culture that it led to the development of the first commercial amusement park in the way that we think of it now (that is, a set of attractions, many mechanical rides, surrounded by a fence for which you have to pay admission to enter).
But the truly astonishing thing was learning about the polymath who came up with this simple (and incredibly lucrative) idea. Even though he wasn't a scientist, it's hard to think of any other word to describe his life. You'll see what I mean when you start reading about this man.
This Search Challenge is great robust fun. A word of caution: I spent WAY too many delightful hours reading about this guy, his life was that interesting.
Here are the Challenge questions to get you started.
1. Who took this ride/slide/boat shooting into water idea and based the idea of an amusement park around it?
2. Once you know who it is, what was the major invention for which he is best known?
3. Using that invention, he once traveled from Linz, Austria to Budapest, Hungary. How long did it take him to make that trip?
4. What kind of wine did he drink when he was approaching Budapest? (For extra credit, what was the name of the woman who handed him the glass of wine??)
I don't think this Challenge is that difficult--but it is hard to stay focused. This man packed more adventures into his life than 10 normal humans.
Enjoy.
Let us know HOW you found the answers!
Search on!
Good day, Dr. Russell and everyone. Super interesting as always.
ReplyDeleteSearched:
[aquatic roller coaster polymath inventor]
American roller coaster designer and builder.
Not what we are looking for and very interesting too.
[amusement park polymath inventor]
Amusement park, Wikipedia
The World’s First Theme Parks"...In the beginning, these parks were marketed as health resorts or picnic spots...Santa Claus Town opened in Santa Claus, Indiana. This park featured attractions based on the Santa Claus legend, and is frequently cited as the first “true” theme park in the world..."
[Paul Boyton]
The Story of Paul Boyton, by Paul Boyton
Paul_Boyton, Wikipedia. External links have more information.
[paul boyton linz austria]
[paul boyton inventions]
In an effort to popularize the suit, which he apparently invented, Boyton embarked on a worldwide publicity tour.
He joined Benito Juarez’s Mexican Navy to fight the French.
Boynton's amazing journeys include traversing...Today, a similar suit is being used by the Unites States Navy and Coast Guard for sea rescue operations...
[rubber suit invented by C.S. Merriman]
Boyton inventions: He patented buoyant water shoes, amusement park ride
(1899) and modification to Merriam suit
in the image below the air pockets can be clearly seen in the right hand drawing. (Extract from Sullivan's Roughing it in Rubber).
Good Old Coney Island: A Sentimental Journey Into the Past
Not only was the public wildly excited with his accomplishment, but also they were willing to pay to hear him talk about it. His first lecture netted him 31 pounds (about $3,000 in today’s money) Site shows image Bolton doing demonstration.
[Irene around(3) paul boyton]
Guest Post: Craig Dudley (Boyton) Great Grandson Of Capt. Paul Boyton
[Paul Boyton Collection]
The Rubber Suit.
Answers on post #2
[Paul Boyton unknown facts]
DeleteHis rubber suit functioned similarly to a kayak.
Boyton's rubber suit was featured by Jules Verne in Tribulations of a Chinaman in China as a life saver for the hero and his three companions.
Site mentions other facts and links, like C. S. MEBRIMAN. Improvement in Life-Preserving- Dresses.
Boyton's 1881 daring voyage from Glendive to St. Louis set a precedent that has never been duplicated.
[paul boynton glendive to saint louis]
Boys' Life - Jul 1960 - Page 59 Trip lasted 64 days and covered more than 3,500 miles.Link also mentions that he is the inventor of the popular water ride "Shoot the Chutes".
Answers
ReplyDelete1. Who took this ride/slide/boat shooting into water idea and based the idea of an amusement park around it?
A: Paul Boyton. Captain Paul Boyton’s Sea Lion Park was the world’s first enclosed amusement park containing numerous rides. Surf Avenue, Coney Island 1895
2. Once you know who it is, what was the major invention for which he is best known?
A: Rubber suit.
3. Using that invention, he once traveled from Linz, Austria to Budapest, Hungary. How long did it take him to make that trip?
A: 84 hours.
4. What kind of wine did he drink when he was approaching Budapest? (For extra credit, what was the name of the woman who handed him the glass of wine??)
A: Tokay. The name of the woman was Irene.
1) Paul Boyton. ["water ride" "amusement park" inventor] led to Wikipedia page for "Shoot the Chute" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoot_the_Chute), which identified the ride's inventor (J.P. Newberg in 1884) and Boyton, who created Paul Boyton's Water Chute amusement park in Chicago in 1894.
ReplyDelete2) A rubber immersion suit, which ultimately led to today's "dry suits" for divers. According to Boyton's Wikipedia page ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Boyton ) , "Boyton began toying with a rubber suit invented by C. S. Merriman as a life-saving device for steamship passengers. This first immersion suit, which would become Boyton's trademark, was essentially a pair of rubber pants and shirt cinched tight at the waist. Within the suit were air pockets the wearer could inflate at will using tubes. Similar to modern-day drysuits, the suit also kept its wearer dry. This essentially allowed the wearer to float on his back, using a double-sided paddle to propel himself, feet-forward."
3) Six days ... or "84 hours". [""Boyton"" Linz Budapest] let to several accounts of his swim.
This one (http://www.ishof.org/paul-boyton-(usa).html) said it took 84 hours, which is 3.5 days;
This one (http://www.19thcenturyphotos.com/Captain-Paul-Boyton-123799.htm), which has a fabulous photo of Boyton in his suit, said the 460-mile trip took six days.
4) Tokay & Irene. Found on pp. 111-114 of this 2006 e-book pdf (http://privatearchives.free.fr/download/The_Story_of_Paul_Boyton.pdf) of Paul Boyton's book.
"THE STORY OF PAUL BOYTON
VOYAGES ON ALL THE GREAT RIVERS OF THE WORLD, PADDLING OVER TWENTY-FIVE
THOUSAND MILES IN A RUBBER DRESS
A RARE TALE OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE
THRILLING EXPERIENCES IN DISTANT LANDS, AMONG STRANGE PEOPLE. A BOOK FOR
BOYS, OLD AND YOUNG."
This was the top hit on an unintentionally mal-formed search [""Paul Boyton" "sipped a glass"] Note the initial double-quotes ... with no ending pair. When I went back to check it, I fixed this mistake, and the result was different and unhelpful. Perhaps Dan can explain this fortuitous success.
(BTW, this book spells Budapest as "Buda Pesth" ... separating the syllables of the two Hungarian cities that sit on opposite sides of the Danube.)
Note: Searching Google Books for ""Paul Boyton"" gives many instances of a 2011 edition of what seems to be the same book as the pdf above (https://books.google.com/books?id=kdpJkgEACAAJ&) "The Story of Paul Boyton: Voyages on All the Great Rivers of the World, Paddling Over Twenty-Five Thousand Miles in a Rubber Dress; A Rare Tale of Travel and Adventure" . But NONE have any previews or permit searches within. I feel fortunate to have found the 2006 e-book pdf.
-- Mike Ross
P.S. Boyton's account of meeting Irene -- initially and later in Budapest are extremely charming ... but alas, too long to be pasted into this 4,096-character-limited comment,
Oddly, it wasn't until his account his next stop in Turin (Italy) that he mentions her name:
"To carry his provisions, map, etc., he had a little tin boat made about two feet, six
inches long and eight inches wide. This little craft bore the name, "Irene D'Ungeria," Irene, belle of Hungary ..."
"Irene D'Ungeria," Irene, belle of Hungary ..." that's a great find… Capt. Boyton was showing his Irish charm. (wonder if the tin boat survives?) rubber & tin & violets (courtesy of jtU) a most peculiar elixir - Chanel might take inspiration.
DeleteThis is great !
ReplyDelete[amusement park inventor] finds Paul Boyton. Wikipedia finds him. Project Gutenberg finds the book about him. So,
1- He is Paul Boyton
2- Wikipedia: While in Atlantic City, Boyton began toying with a rubber suit invented by C. S. Merriman as a life-saving device for steamship passengers. This first immersion suit, which would become Boyton's trademark, was essentially a pair of rubber pants and shirt cinched tight at the waist. Within the suit were air pockets the wearer could inflate at will using tubes. Similar to modern-day drysuits, the suit also kept its wearer dry. This essentially allowed the wearer to float on his back, using a double-sided paddle to propel himself, feet-forward.
3- Linz to Buda Pesth took him 6 days. It is a distance of 433kms [boyton chronology] finds http://media.ecollection.biz/
4- From the eponymously named book: With a musical laugh she handed him a glass filled with sparkling Tokay. A general hand shake all around followed and as Paul's rubber-covered, wet hand grasped that of the young lady, he begged her to present him with the bunch of violets she had pinned to her breast, as a memento of the pleasant moments he spent in her company. She complied with his request, he gallantly kissed them and pushed them through the rubber opening of the face piece, down into his breast. But her name is never given.
Cheers jon tU who really had fun with this having never heard of him
Ramon is absolutely correct. How did I miss her name ? It is right there in the book mentioned: Irene. Thanks RG.
ReplyDeletepart 1
ReplyDeleteexcellent work Ramón! — ★★★★★ finds on Irene & the sparkling Tokay - ⌘-f those in The Story of Paul Boyton text below.
I was stymied… actually derailed by one of the images I found early on… still bamboozled by this apparition…
the unexpected chute view @ Dreamland, Coney Island, 1905
the following are peripheral, ancillary, supportive & maybe entertaining bits based in part on Ramón's finds:
Dreamland, Coney Island
text of The Story of Paul Boyton
among his swimming distances and times -
"Among his exploits were: crossed English channel in 24 hours (1875);[2] paddled Rhine 430 miles (1875); Alton, Ill. to St. Louis, Mo. on the Mississippi (1876) and same year Bayou Goula to New Orleans, 100 miles in 24 hours; 400 miles on the Danube insix days (1876); navigated all important rivers of the continent, passed through canals of Venice and crossed the straits of Gibraltar; returned to the U.S. and floated from Oil City, Pa. to the Gulf of Mexico-2,342 miles in 80 days. His longest voyage was in 1881 when he started at Cedar Creek, Mont. and ended at St. Louis, Mo., 3,580 miles."
a contemporary effort to swim the length of the Mississippi… Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to the Gulf of Mexico
current Mississippi swim - concludes Dec. 4, 2015
2350 miles|181 days|10 States
Thanks Remmij and Jon. This was for me too the first time that I hear about him and as Dr. Russell said, Paul had plenty of adventures and fun. I will read your links, Remmij. The current Mississippi swim is great finding and the distances Paul did are impressive. The Chutes part 2, need to visit and looks so interesting, thanks!
DeleteJon, I almost miss the name too, found it because Dr. Russell said about it. It is like almadenmike says not idea why her name was not mentioned the first time.
About water attractions, I just read this: Underwater hotel and the site of the Hotel
part 2:
ReplyDelete"Different Chutes Submitted by kozel on Thu, 08/13/2015 - 6:36pm.
If you're not from New York, you may not know that Dreamland (original post) is not the same as Luna Park (video by Malted Falcon). Both 'Shooting the Chutes' look the same, but they are not. Steeplechase was the 3rd famous park from Coney that lasted from 1897 until 1964. Dreamland from 1904 and closed in 1911. Luna Park from 1903 and closed in 1944 after a fire."
chutes LoC movie, Luna Park, Coney Island
Moon Ride - when getting wet wasn't your cup-o-tea
in SF
SF Chutes
1902-1907
SF history
Riverview
Riverview
footage - chute @~20 seconds in
the Captain's grandson
Shoot the Chutes history
Irish history on Boyton
Sea Lion Park/Luna history
another river swimmer -
Martin Strel
10 years ago
our lean, merry adventurer named Paul Boyton. Newspaper Archive has at least 2100 hits for him. Its hard to imagine now, that what he did was so exciting.
ReplyDeleteGreat Search adventure Dan.
jon tU
I Shooted the Chute in Vancouver 70 years ago. Great fun. jon tU
ReplyDelete