Eric Larson on cosmic cheer squad

Favorite carnival ride? Just one? Ha! As a kid, I loved carnivals and amusement parks, yet also had massive anxiety about getting on certain rides that looked "scary" (that's the whole point, isn't it?) and being flung into space because of some freak accident or, more frequently, getting sick and barfing at the exact inopportune moment! Well, somehow I did manage to get on most rides that I was tall enough for and as I grew older, I became more comfortable with just about anything. So, I'm going with a triumvirate of favourite rides: 1. Bumper cars: you get to drive and no skill is required. Crashes are encouraged. A dream for a 10 year old, and decades later the thrill remains. 2. The Scrambler: has upchuck potential, but this may have been the first stomach-churner I survived intact. Once I had that under my belt with associated survival strategies, I was good on many more rides. 3. Roller coasters in general, but I have a penchant for old-time ones: Space Mountain at Disneyland/World is brilliant (in the dark!). And any of those old rickety looking wooden ones that look like they're about to fall over.