Witness the importance of precision while designing a roller coaster

Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library; CC-BY-SA 4.0 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Correspondence from 1904 between Henry Clay Folger and actress Julia Marlowe regarding Shakespearean acting. At the time that they exchanged letters, Marlowe had just completed a run as Juliet in a New York production of Romeo and Juliet, and the Folger Shakespeare Library had not yet been established.

Winsor McCay/Box Office Attraction Co.

McCay's “Gertie the Dinosaur” was the first character ever created specifically for animated film.

Media Editor: Lee Goldstein

© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Candy corn is actually a candy cream.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The advent of steel coasters allowed designers to shape tubular steel rails in innovative ways, such as the 1975 corkscrew invention of American designer Ron Toomer.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Animation of a linear synchronous motor (LSM) and a linear induction motor (LIM), which use electromagnets to make roller coasters achieve rapid rates of acceleration.

The Walt Disney Company

The animated Steamboat Willie (1928) was the first Mickey Mouse film to include sound.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Animation of the safety chain dog, a version of which was patented by American designer John Miller in 1910. By locking into the grooves of the ratchet rail, it prevents roller coasters from rolling backward should the lift chain break.