# Water slides that just dump you into deep water--good idea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464 "2013-10-05T21:29:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/41 "2013-10-08T06:42:44Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Parents might be working multiple jobs to keep the family afloat, and not have time or money for swimming lessons. I see what you did there! ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/42 "2013-10-08T09:00:04Z")
Just from personal experience: a bad idea. I know how to swim and when the tube slide dumped me into four feet of water, I couldn’t tell up from down. I stretched and did a somersault, which brought my feet above water and head near bottom, allowing me to recover. My sister-in-law fared worse as she didn’t know how to swim. The life guard pulled her upright after thrashing for several seconds. She was advised not to close her eyes when she hit the water (meh!) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/43 "2013-10-08T11:55:15Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > If I could interject it makes me extremely angry when people say things like “everyone should be able to swim”. Everyone has different abilities, and just because I can’t swim I don’t feel like a defective person because of that. I don’t look down on people that can’t drive a manual transmission or do integration because I know some people simply aren’t gifted in those areas, so I’d expect the same respect to be given to me. > > I have noticed that “deep water” areas of waterparks are becoming fewer and fewer. There’s not really any being built. Which of these statements also make you extremely angry? Everyone should know how to dial 911. Everyone should know how to use a fire extinguisher. Everyone should know how to get out of a burning building. Because “Everyone should know how to swim” is the same type of statement. It’s something that really isn’t that hard to do, unless you’re paralyzed or similar, and could save your life. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/44 "2013-10-08T12:17:48Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Which of these statements also make you extremely angry? > > Everyone should know how to dial 911. “Dial”, huh? When’s the last time you used a rotary phone?😛 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/45 "2013-10-08T12:40:49Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > “Dial”, huh? When’s the last time you used a rotary phone?😛 My dad’s still got one in his basement. Still has the “NEptune-X XXXX” sticker from the phone company on it too. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/46 "2013-10-08T12:43:28Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Which of these statements also make you extremely angry? > > Everyone should know how to dial 911. > > Everyone should know how to use a fire extinguisher. > > Everyone should know how to get out of a burning building. > > Because “Everyone should know how to swim” is the same type of statement. It’s something that really isn’t that hard to do, unless you’re paralyzed or similar, and could save your life. None of these do. It’s easy for most people to learn how to punch numbers or know to go out the nearest door or window, but it’s extremely hard for a lot of people to learn how to swim, if they can do it at all. I’ve tried several times and instructors just gave up on me because it was obvious I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t able to learn French either and I can’t design rockets. Those just aren’t my abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/47 "2013-10-08T12:52:19Z")
I can’t think of a single situation where knowing how to swim would "save my life’. Since I don’t go in the deep end, always wear a life jacket on small boats and larger boats like ferry’s almost never sink in the US. Sure you could think of a rare scenario, but the risk would be so low you could make statements like “you could save your life if you knew how to use a manual transmission”. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/48 "2013-10-08T13:11:31Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > I can’t think of a single situation where knowing how to swim would "save my life’. Since I don’t go in the deep end, always wear a life jacket on small boats and larger boats like ferry’s almost never sink in the US. Sure you could think of a rare scenario, but the risk would be so low you could make statements like “you could save your life if you knew how to use a manual transmission”. This may be true for adults, but kids are not as good at identifying and avoiding situations they cannot handle. Drowning is the #2 cause of accident-related death for children age 1-14. Sending your kids to swimming lessons is one of the best investments you can make in their safety. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/49 "2013-10-08T13:20:18Z")
To answer the OP. I’m 46. My neck is still screwed up from a trip to Traction Park when I was 17. I’m not sure that anything there was a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/50 "2013-10-08T15:49:12Z")
Since the OP linked to a commercial from Action Park I’ll leave this extensive article from the magazine [Weird N.J.](http://weirdnj.com/stories/action-park/)about the park. The place really was uniquely odd and dangerous. If you think a water slide that dumps you into deep water is a bad idea what do you think about one with a 360 degree loop? Action Park had one. Not for long though. > [@](#): > > It is a ride of legend and fantasy, a waterslide that never totally was. Its 360-degree loop loomed over park-goers as they entered Waterworld, taunting them with both its inaccessibility and improbability. It supposedly dismembered test dummies and maybe even a few park employees in trial runs. It was the Cannonball Loop slide, and it was actually open for about a month in 1985 before being closed by the Advisory Board on Carnival Amusement Ride Safety––an act the Herald called “highly unusual.” ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/51 "2013-10-08T16:19:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Since the OP linked to a commercial from Action Park I’ll leave this extensive article from the magazine [Weird N.J.](http://weirdnj.com/stories/action-park/)about the park. The place really was uniquely odd and dangerous. If you think a water slide that dumps you into deep water is a bad idea what do you think about one with a 360 degree loop? Action Park had one. Not for long though. Ya-but… Look at where you are talking about…😛 ::::::::::::::::::::::: flee :::::::::::: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/52 "2013-10-08T18:08:55Z")
They actually have upside down looping waterslides again, but not straight up and down ones like at action park, it’s more curved to the side. Noah’s Ark has one. My opinion is you’re normally too disoriented to appreciate the loop, but the free-fall after they open the trap door is the best part. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/53 "2013-10-08T19:00:06Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > They actually have upside down looping waterslides again, but not straight up and down ones like at action park, it’s more curved to the side. Noah’s Ark has one. My opinion is you’re normally too disoriented to appreciate the loop, but the free-fall after they open the trap door is the best part. I rode one of them recently up at Jay Peak, lots of fun. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/54 "2013-10-09T12:43:10Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > I can’t think of a single situation where knowing how to swim would "save my life’. Since I don’t go in the deep end, always wear a life jacket on small boats and larger boats like ferry’s almost never sink in the US. Sure you could think of a rare scenario, but the risk would be so low you could make statements like “you could save your life if you knew how to use a manual transmission”. Your car crashes into a lake. You are walking next to a body of water, the bank gives away and you fall in. You go outside on the patio at a house party for some fresh air at night, you don’t realize there is a pool and walk into the deep end. You see a small child struggling in a body of water and you are the only one around. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/55 "2013-10-09T14:05:32Z")
Catastrophic global sea level rise. Mafioso tries to drown you in soup factory vat. Pushed into swimming pool by giggling sorority girls. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/56 "2013-10-09T15:19:46Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Catastrophic global sea level rise. > > Mafioso tries to drown you in soup factory vat. > > Pushed into swimming pool by giggling sorority girls. Haha. Except that 10 people drown in the US every day. It does happen. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/57 "2013-10-09T15:56:22Z")
Does “man happens to be walking by a kid drowning” happen anywhere but the movies? And how many of the 10 people are any one of these scenarios as opposed to people canoeing without life jackets or kids swimming in the deep end when they shouldn’t. I guess it can happened (and maybe I should wear a hard hat in case a brick falls out of a building when I’m walking down the street) but since it’s impossible for some people to learn how to swim, including me, I reasonably do anything about them. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/58 "2013-10-09T16:40:43Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > since it’s impossible for some people to learn how to swim, No it’s not. Babies can swim. Unless you have some kind of physical disability you can learn how to swim. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/59 "2013-10-09T16:59:16Z")
People that don’t know how to swim have no business recreating at bodies of water. I haven’t looked at these stats in several years, but I understand that more people drown every year than are killed by gunshot every year. Stupid is as stupid does. If you want to do water recreation, you should learn how to swim. Anybody can learn how to swim, regardless of someone thinking they can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464/60 "2013-10-09T17:26:52Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Haha. Except that 10 people drown in the US every day. It does happen. I wasn’t pooh-poohing the risk of drowning. I was just being funny. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-slides-that-just-dump-you-into-deep-water-good-idea/670464.md?page=4)