The overall introduction of carousel ride

A carousel, roundabout or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The "seats" are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gear work to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music.[citation needed] This leads to one of the alternative names in AmEng, the galloper. Other popular names are jumper, horse about and flying horses.
Carousel rides may not be able to compete with many of today’s technically advanced rides, yet they are still beloved by amusement park visitors of all ages. They also play an important role in the evolution of amusement parks. As one of the earliest rides to appear at the fairs and amusement areas that were the blueprints for today’s amusement parks, they helped whet the public’s appetite for bigger and better amusement park rides. In a playground, a roundabout or merry-go-round is usually a simple, child-powered rotating platform with bars or handles to which children can cling while riding.

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Thrill ride or kid’s ride?
Carousel amusement ride are not considered "thrill machines" by any stretch of the imagination. Still, carousels are as reliant on the laws of motion as their more exciting cousins, the roller coasters. It's theoretically possible that, allowed to spin out of control, a carousel could gain enough speed so that the riders would be thrown off. Thankfully, runaway carousels are not the least bit common. With all of its beauty and seeming simplicity, the carousel is a delicate balance of motion and forces. All of the horses move through one complete circle in the same amount of time. The horses on the outside of the carousel have to cover more distance than the inside horses in the same amount of time. This means the horses on the outside have a faster linear speed than those at the hub. On some carousels, the horses go up and down in a galloping motion simulating what it might be like to ride a real horse.