I've decided to start illustrating some interesting facts and bits of odd but interesting trivia, here is the first one.
Now how's this for an ice breaker?
Queen Catherine the Great of Russia was a great fan of sliding down perilously steep hills on a block of ice! "Block of ice?!" I hear you say, well I will explain.
What we are talking about of course, are Russian Ice Slides.
In Russia in the 18th Century, there was no more thrilling (and quite frankly dangerous!) pastime than sliding down giant wooden slides covered with ice! For added speed (and no doubt a frostbitten rear end) the 'sledges' themselves were just hollowed out blocks of ice, lined with straw and with a length of rope to hold on to.
Queen Catherine is said to have been a great fan of sliding down these Russian 'Ice Mountains', and is said to have had one built which had wheeled sledges, so she could continue to slide during the summer months. These steep wooden ramps with wheeled carts, were the earliest incarnation of the roller coaster.
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