FOOTLOOSE AND…
If you’re looking to ride a record-breaking roller coaster, you’d better break out your passport.
If you thought the renowned Kingda Ka roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey is the world’s fastest, you were right a couple of years ago… but you’re wrong today.
Yes, the Kingda Ka coaster records a top speed of 128 miles per hour. But, in today’s world, that is many miles per hour less than the current champ.
To locate the 2015 speed leader, you will have to travel to Abu Dhabi, of all places. There, in “Ferrari World,” you can see — or ride — “Formula Rossa,” which clocks out at 149 mph. It starts at zero and shoots to 60 miles an hour in two seconds!
In keeping with the park’s Formula One theme, passengers on Formula Rossa are required to wear goggles. Sure, it looks cool, but that’s not why. Here’s the scientific scoop:
Alberto Minetti, a professor of physiology in Milan, Italy, pontificates that at 150 miles per hour “even dust that is not normally harmful, is. Even dust like when you may be sitting at a desk… it’s like a bullet, in a way,” he explains.
So, if you’re going to shoot around a track at 150 mph, goggles are a must. What is that like?
Honestly… I don’t intend to find out!
