Small Home Gazette, Summer 2017

History Brief: What Spins and Rises and Dips?

In 1926, the Tilt-A-Whirl was invented by Herbert W. Sellner at his Faribault, Minnesota, home. A woodworker and maker of water slides, Sellner’s U.S. patent called his invention an “amusement apparatus.”

Debuting in 1927 at the Minnesota State Fair, his invention soon spread to fairgrounds and amusement parks under its more well-known name, Tilt-A-Whirl, a dizzying (sometimes nauseating) ride in which four to seven free-spinning cars hurl around a fixed pivot while the platform beneath rises and dips.

On a positive note, the ride was also known for first kisses—presumably because riders got “tossed around,” causing lips to collide.