Warning: This article contains discussion of assisted dying which some readers may find distressing.
One theme park concept defies the popular phrase, "All the fun of the fair", and in case the name didn't give it away, Julijonas Urbonas' 'Euthanasia Coaster' isn't exactly like jumping on Space Mountain at Disneyland.
The Lithuanian designer, artist, and engineer has made a name for himself as the so-called Father of Gravitational Aesthetics, showing off concepts including escalator-slide hybrids, a g-force lecture theater, lucid dreaming hotels, an orgasm-enhancing fairground ride, and more. By far and away his most famous project is the aforementioned Euthanasia Coast, which was conceived in 2010 and eventually made into a scale model.
Like we've seen with the controversial Sarco Pod, there would be plenty of red tape surrounding a lethal roller coaster that takes people on a one-way trip to the afterlife, meaning Urbonas' Euthanasia Coaster remains a work of fiction.
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Still, it's a popular one, with the idea even being mentioned in Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go in the Dark, inspiring Norwegian rock group Major Parkinson to release "Euthanasia Roller Coaster", and the concept being reworked for an episode of 2023's Mrs. Davis.
The Euthanasia Coaster is supposed to climb to a towering 1,500 ft and give passengers one last chance to press a button to exit the ride vehicle. Considering Riyadh's Falcons Flight is the world's tallest roller coaster (with a max height of just 535 ft), it's hard to imagine just how tall the Euthanasia Coaster would be.
Its descent includes a 1,600 ft drop that reaches speeds of 360 kilometres per hour, which is nippy compared to Falcons Flight's 250 km/h – making it the fastest roller coaster in the world.
As riders are sent through seven loops of shrinking size, they're hit with a lethal 10 gs, causing g-LOC (a g-force induced loss of consciousness) and eventual death.
It's said that no one would be able to survive this exposure to prolonged cerebral hypoxia, but according to a 2014 interview with Vice, that might not be the case.
Discussing his Euthanasia Coaster concept, Julijonas Urbonas said that it could be used for dystopian horrors, like to curb future overpopulation or help those who feel their life has gone on 'too long', but ultimately, its sympathetic purpose is to assist people who want to bow out of life with one final thrill.
Despite the Euthanasia Coaster's seemingly foolproof design, Urbonas told the outlet how one NASA engineer called out a potential flaw in a sci-fi blog. Although he doesn't name the engineer, they apparently noted some 'minor errors' in aerodynamics and friction, leading to claims that amputees or riders with smaller legs might survive because there would be less or no volume in lower extremities to pool blood in.
Elsewhere, a pilot apparently attended an exhibition that featured the Euthanasia Coaster's scale model and claimed he could 'hack' the ride by wearing a pair of pilot anti-gravity pants that inflate during high-g maneuvers and force blood upward in the body.
We wouldn't recommend it, but if the Euthanasia Coaster were actually functional, that hack would supposedly make it the "most extreme ride ever."
As for whether he's afraid of death, Urbonas' profoundly reiterated: "I’m not sure if I’m afraid of death. It’s one thing to imagine it and another to encounter it physically. What I am sure of is the fear of slow death due to terminal illness that would impose a burden to my relatives. In terms of afterlife, I retain an agnostic view."
For advice, support, and more information, you can contact Dignity in Dying via their website or email them at [email protected]. For more state resources, you can also contact End of Life Choices Oregon or Patient Choices Vermont.
Additionally, if you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.