Roller Coaster Risks

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At amusement parks, you can face death and laugh about it, but how safe are the latest rides? With riders getting up to three times the force of gravity faced by astronauts at launch, even ride designers concede we're near the limit of human endurance. Park owners maintain that rides are safe, but recent deaths and reports of injury have led to calls for more government regulation. Why do millions love to be terrified and what does it do to their bodies? We hear from an avid rider, an industry spokesman, those who study the effects such stress on the body, and an activist-mom whose son lost part of his on a ride. Newsmaker: Controversial Srebrenica Memorial - There was tight security in Srebrenica today, as thousand gathered to dedicate a memorial to one of the worst massacres in modern history. It was the 1995 slaughter of some 8,000 Bosnian Moslems, by Serbian forces who overran a UN safe zone. Sara Terry, of The Christian Science Monitor, was at the memorial. Reporter's Notebook: The Last Balding Man in America - Baldness, myopia, aging. When there's finally a cure, will you be too old to care? David Brooks, of The Weekly Standard, waxes poetic on several of the noteworthy and not-so-noteworthy scientific advances on the horizon-and his greatest fear.
At amusement parks, you can face death and laugh about it, but how safe are the latest rides? With riders getting up to three times the force of gravity faced by astronauts at launch, even ride designers concede we're near the limit of human endurance. Park owners maintain that rides are safe, but recent deaths and reports of injury have led to calls for more government regulation. Why do millions love to be terrified and what does it do to their bodies? We hear from an avid rider, an industry spokesman, those who study the effects such stress on the body, and an activist-mom whose son lost part of his on a ride.
  • Newsmaker: Controversial Srebrenica Memorial - There was tight security in Srebrenica today, as thousand gathered to dedicate a memorial to one of the worst massacres in modern history. It was the 1995 slaughter of some 8,000 Bosnian Moslems, by Serbian forces who overran a UN safe zone. Sara Terry, of The Christian Science Monitor, was at the memorial.
  • Reporter's Notebook: The Last Balding Man in America - Baldness, myopia, aging. When there's finally a cure, will you be too old to care? David Brooks, of The Weekly Standard, waxes poetic on several of the noteworthy and not-so-noteworthy scientific advances on the horizon-and his greatest fear.

The Christian Science Monitor

Dave Althoff, Jr

American Coaster Enthusiasts

American Psychological Association

International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions

International Theme Park Services

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center

National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials

Saferparks

The Weekly Standard

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Warren Olney