My grade school playground equipment was made of old tires, chains, and wooden posts. Injuries abounded, and not one of our 1980s parents gave a shit.

Like many, we got one going way too fast. But what got me was a rock that shifted underneath it while I was spinning on my back holding on to the middle with my feet. Clocked me in the back of the head, felt like a bullet. I was alright, but it could have been much worse...

The game was, you'd put one kid in the middle and then everybody else would do their level best to spin the damn thing so fast it would either drill into the Earth's mantle or take off like a helicopter.

In my home village we have a much safer and much better version of it:

You can accelerate yourself by just pulling at the plate in the middle, meaning that everyone can have fun and you can probably get much higher speeds.

I lost a tooth to one of these things.

To be fair, a bunch of teenagers were also involved, making it spin at about mach 87 before it smashed into my mouth.

I don’t remember ever being thrown off of one of these. But I always see memes like this.

Here in Germany we optimized the process and just use these nowadays: https://www.stilum.com/wp-content/uploads/flecto-Karussell-auf-einem-Spielplatz-1030x687.jpg

Mums will not let their kids on it. Dads will spun it faster to teach their kids about conservation of momentum.

The moped plus roundabout was a thing a while back; maybe that's why they disappeared?

https://youtu.be/XoNW1MQictc

I remember we didn't stop those for anybody. You want on? Sprint and jump. Want off? I still have a vivid memory of trying to get off one, being thrown outward, and getting a bar between the legs. Went to the bathroom and found blood in my underwear. Can't believe I still walked home after that

Got my first real concussion on one of those things. All I remember is that one minute I was flying off of it and the next minute I was at home and I had been there for several hours.

These were so much fun as a kid and pretty good as a drunk adult too

I somehow flipped over one of the bars and bashed my head on the deck (wooden on ours rather than metal) when I was around 6 or 7 years old. No stitches, though I don't see any noticeable scar. I don't remember much aside from seeing blood and a headache.

This is why we have braindead adults who run things

Meatspin?

The nighmares, they're coming back

This was the centrifuge through which they distilled the kids worth giving a shit about.

Yes, I know centrifuges don't distill. No, I will not be making any modifications. And, if you asked in your heart, you were probably the chaff spun aside by the Iron Dais of Judgment.

If no adult gave a shit, why don't we see them anymore?

This was the best one.

Broken bones was just an indication that you gotta get good.

Have you seen the videos using motorbike wheels to spin these things up?

Uncle Dave out there spinning the yeet machine up to 11.