Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide • Hacker News Board

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#61

Post by matt4077 » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 9:46 PM UTC

wyldfire wrote: post #20

linohh wrote: post #15

When I was a kid, we went to TX (I'm from Germany) and everyone recommended going to New Braunfels because it's so German. We were quite shocked to see how german it was. It seemed like a hideout for traditional german values (as in conquering Poland) - no pleasant memory.

Wow, what in particular do you mean?

The name alone sounds like a made-up name from an uninspired nazi comedy.

Haven’t been there, but it’s probably a bit like Namibia, which had the unfortunate experience of briefly being entangled in German dreams of colonization: they have radio stations continuously playing German folk music from the 1920’s.

It’s not explicitly fascist music (as far as I can tell) but the association was strong with everyone who heard it.

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#62

Post by laretluval » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 9:57 PM UTC

Does Schlitterbahn have a higher fatal accident rate than other water parks? Other amusement parks?

This incident is horrific in its graphic details but is it actually exceptional?

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#63

Post by anamexis » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:04 PM UTC

cmiles74 wrote: post #26

anamexis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the insanity here is that there were no engineers involved in the design of the slide. It was largely designed by a co-owner of the park who possessed "no technical of engineering skills."

I read that too... I just don't believe it. That seems ridiculous to me. Would they have to hire an army of handymen to do the construction? It looks way too large and involved for that. Does the state really allow construction of something this large and involved without any engineers signing off? If this is true, I don't think I may ever let my child into a water park. Is this true of traditional amusement parks as…

It seems that it differs by state, but in Kansas, amusement parks in general are self-regulated.

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#64

Post by ryanmerket » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:08 PM UTC

esaym wrote: post #27

linohh wrote: post #15

When I was a kid, we went to TX (I'm from Germany) and everyone recommended going to New Braunfels because it's so German. We were quite shocked to see how german it was. It seemed like a hideout for traditional german values (as in conquering Poland) - no pleasant memory.

Up until about 50 years ago, the population was mostly German, and German was still being spoken. Not so much now though.

I grew up there in the 80s. We had our own Wurstfest and the school’s mascot was the Unicorns. So there’s that.

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#65

Post by coupdejarnac » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:13 PM UTC

skookumchuck wrote: post #44

nradov wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same thing can happen water skiing.

That's why you always wear a wet suit when water skiing, even on a hot day.

Am in Texas. No way am I wearing a wet suit while skiing right now.

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#66

Post by wyldfire » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:14 PM UTC

soapboxrocket wrote: post #41

duxup wrote: post #31

Word of warning... the descriptions in this article are pretty horrifying.

Caleb was my nephews best friend, and the families did a lot together. My brother-in-law said that he talked to the father after and he said the hardest part was that they all got in the car to go home after and had an empty seat.

What did the family do with the settlement money? If my son had died I would feel so terribly conflicted. Survivor's guilt would be so much worse if I got to live a life of luxury in exchange for my son.

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#67

Post by skookumchuck » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:21 PM UTC

coupdejarnac wrote: post #65

skookumchuck wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why you always wear a wet suit when water skiing, even on a hot day.

Am in Texas. No way am I wearing a wet suit while skiing right now.

The wetsuit shortie should be fine. But suit yourself :-)

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#68

Post by rustcharm » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:33 PM UTC

The ride was also loaded badly with two very heavy passengers in back — exceeding 600 pounds — and a 65 pound kid in front. They need to enforce weight limits even at the risk of “offending” passengers.

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#69

Post by donarb » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:39 PM UTC

The really tragic thing is that the father of the killed 10 year old was a Kansas legislator who voted for a cap on damages (max $300K) when someone is killed due to negligence. A quirk in Kansas law allows for Kansans injured by out-of-state parties to apply the laws of the state where the other party is located. So Scott Schwab parlayed the payout for his son's death from $300,000 to $20 million, all while denying the same to his constituents injured by Kansas companies.

https://www.injuryrelief.com/blog/how-is-representative-scot...

Re: Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

#70

Post by ficklepickle » Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 10:39 PM UTC

cmiles74 wrote: post #26

anamexis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the insanity here is that there were no engineers involved in the design of the slide. It was largely designed by a co-owner of the park who possessed "no technical of engineering skills."

I read that too... I just don't believe it. That seems ridiculous to me. Would they have to hire an army of handymen to do the construction? It looks way too large and involved for that. Does the state really allow construction of something this large and involved without any engineers signing off? If this is true, I don't think I may ever let my child into a water park. Is this true of traditional amusement parks as…

Their family owns a construction company that was also named in the legal filings, so I assume they built it.

It defies belief. I don't know how they got insurance for essentially homemade waterslides.