Tales of the Carnival Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tickets

Tickets are much easier to exchange than money at a carnival. The rides all cost so many tickets, so there is never any need to make change at the ride. This helps to protect both the workers and attendees from theft or loss of money. Our parents first visited a booth where they purchased all the tickets they thought we would use. Then we just went from ride to ride spending them!

Answer: Midway

Since the World's Columbian Exposition, held in 1893, the location described above has been called a midway. The World's Columbian Exposition, also called the World's Fair: Columbian Exposition, was the first world fair that separated the exhibits from the amusements. The area where amusements were found was called Midway Plaisance, hence the origin of the term.

A sideshow alley is an area at an Australian carnival that is similar to a midway in the United States. Funfair is a term that is synonymous with a traveling carnival, and a stall at a medieval funfair was a booth from which vendors sold a variety of products.

Answer: Jumbo

Well, PopPop said that they couldn't call the ride "Dumbo" because we weren't at Disneyland! Anyway, this ride was similar to the one there. Instead of making the elephant fly higher in the sky by using a joystick, there was a pedal on the floor that would raise it when we stepped down on it. We were really flying - at least for a couple of minutes! Did you know that after he served as President, Harry S Truman visited Disneyland? He declined to take a ride on Dumbo because the elephant is a Republican symbol!

Answer: Found our way through a series of puzzles

The Monkey Maze, which featured a house of mirrors, was not very difficult to beat! Even though the mirrors showed us in distorted poses, we were not afraid; we made it through pretty quickly. The ride was very safe, as our parents could see us at all times, even when we went to the maze upstairs. We finally were able to beat the maze by going down a twisty slide at the end! Did you know that the idea for a house of mirrors came from the famous Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles? We liked the attraction so much, we HAD to do it twice!

Answer: Duck Pond

Duck Pond is the only game of chance listed. All a person must do is choose a duck, see what prize is named on its bottom, and collect it! These types of games, designed to delight young children, typically give every player an opportunity to win. Games of skill, however, make the player demonstrate some sort of physical ability.

In Milk Bottle, a person must be able to hit the target bottles hard enough with a ball to knock them all over; in Balloon and Dart, the aim must be true enough to hit and pop a balloon.

In Ring the Bell the mallet must be used to strike the pivot board hard enough to make the bell ring. It makes us tired just thinking about all the effort!

Answer: Carousel

Also called a roundabout or galloper, the carousel originated in the Middle East as a device used to train cavalrymen. The idea was adopted by European knights during the Crusades. At first, the men threw balls to one another while galloping in a circle; later small rings were speared from poles that hung overhead.

While the carousel that we boys rode featured horses, today it is not uncommon to see a variety of other animals to ride round and round as the music plays.

Answer: Pendulum

Invented by Charles Marshall sometime between 1893-97, the Pirate Ship, also called a swing boat, is a pendulum ride, swinging back and forth to different heights. It was originally called the Ocean Wave, but today it can also be found in some carnivals sporting a Viking theme. Most carnivals have height requirements for this ride; the smallest buddy, who is right around 40 inches tall, barely made it on the ride!

Answer: Bumper Car

Bumper cars, much like the ones we enjoyed, have been around since the 1920s. One of the earliest brands was called Dodgem, which was manufactured by Max and Harold Stoehrer. We took turns steering and accelerating, and made sure that we kept the rules by not bumping any of the other cars head on!

Answer: Ferris Wheel

Originally called a "pleasure wheel", the predecessor to the Ferris Wheel was a chair made of wood that was hung on a wooden frame by rings. The pleasure wheel found in Ottoman-ruled Bulgaria was described by a British merchant named Peter Mundy in 1620.

The first wheel that was called a Ferris Wheel was designed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. He had previously ridden on the Roundabout, designed by William Somers, also called a Somers' Wheel, and, being a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was able to figure out a way to improve it.

Answer: To reduce the friction between our legs and the slide

The truth of the matter is that when a person uses a slide and goes from a higher point to a lower one, gravity will kick in and we will eventually get to the bottom without a mat. The mat, however, will help to reduce the friction that is caused when our bare legs (assuming it is summer and we are wearing shorts) make contact with the slide. Let's agree on this! The ride is more fun when we slide fast - but sliding too fast is a bit scary and could cause injury to some.

The man helped us arrange the mat on the slide and sit on it just right before we began to slide down.

The mat helps to make the experience just right!