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How do you feel when you are on a merry-go-round? Is it exhilarating? Do you feel a sense of boundless joy? Or are you one of those who end up feeling giddy? Each one of us experience it differently and our own experiences too might vary from time to time.
Starts with horses
Have you, however, ever wondered as to why these rides predominantly have horses, and not, say, cows or elephants? You might have been tempted to associate the speed and thrill of the ride with that one might experience while riding a horse, but there’s actually a deeper connection.
Back in the 12th Century, Turkish and Arabian horsemen engaged in a training game that enabled them to practice their cavalry riding skills. Riding in circles, either on horseback or suspended from a spinning wheel, they either threw clay balls filled with perfume with the objective of not dropping it (the one who drops will be covered in that scent until they are able to take a bath), or jostled to knock off the hat of a man who was holding a stick. The Spanish and Italian crusaders who witnessed these dubbed them “little war,” the Italian word for which is carosello.
“has for its object to provide ample accommodation for occupants, a substantial mode of construction, and a convenient method of guiding it during motion.”William Schneider in his patent “Improvement in carrousels”
William Schneider’s patent drawing.
| Photo Credit:
U.S. Patent 117336
A day for the carousels
The first carousel-related U.S. patent was awarded to William Schneider of Davenport, Iowa on July 25, 1871. In this patent, titled “Improvement in carrousels,” Schneider came up with a new arrangement of the rotary pavilion “and has for its object to provide ample accommodation for occupants, a substantial mode of construction, and a convenient method of guiding it during motion.”
Even though Schneider failed to gain financially from his patent and associated invention, he probably now has reason to smile about it. For in 2012, the U.S. celebrated their first National Carousel Day on July 25, marking the day Schneider received his patent 141 years earlier.
National Carousel Day or Merry-Go-Round Day has been celebrated in the U.S. on July 25 every year since then and the main objective is to direct attention to the hundred-plus historic original wooden machines that still remain from the 5000-6000 that dominated the landscape in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Once the European crusaders brought the game to their continent, the French further innovated the concept and gave it the name carrousel, meaning “a tilting match.” These innovations included legless wooden horses that were suspended from arms, all of which were connected to a rotating pole at the centre – making them the direct predecessors of the carousels as we know them today. With the central pole rotated by a human, horse, or mule, knights in shining armour practised spearing a hanging ring.
Fun exercise
For the audience that gathered around, it seemed like a fun exercise overall, spawning the need for carousels as a device for entertainment by the end of the 17th Century. Even as these carousels evolved from human- and animal-powered to bicycle-powered, later steam-powered and now motorised ones, their allure kept increasing. They became more colourful, more lively, more decorated, more bright, and more shiny and they became a must-have in a fair anywhere in the world.
Also read: The story and science behind Ferris wheels
While the golden age of carousels (1870-1930) might be behind us, these rides continue to be popular attractions across the globe. Be it a weekend visit to Chennai’s Marina beach, a ride with a view of Mount Fuji in Japan, a way to ring in the Chinese New Year in Singapore, or just a visit to a mall in Istanbul, Turkey, there’s a carousel for everything. When will you be getting on one next?
The mechanics of a merry-go-round
The basic mechanics of a carousel revolves around three main parts: the central structure, the rotating platform, and the animals or seats. The central pole is the heart of a merry-go-round and functions as the main support for the entire contraption. Usually made of wood or metal, it is positioned in the centre of the rotating platform, and remains stationary, even as the rest of the ride moves around it. The platform corresponds to the circular base where the animals or seats are mounted, rotating around the central pole. The rotation, which is managed using a system of gears and pulleys, is like achieved these days using a motor. The animals or seats on the carousel are able to move up and down while rotating because they are attached to the platform by suspension arms.
Carousels have two main drive systems: the top-drive carousel or overhead drive system wherein the motor is placed above the rotating platform and the bottom-drive carousel or underneath drive system, which has the motor below the rotating platform. While the latter is used for smaller merry-go-rounds that have to be more mobile, the former is usually employed in bigger carousels.
Published – July 25, 2026 07:46 am IST
