In humans, facing death is usually regarded as a negative experience since most causes of death are dark. It is uncommon to encounter a journey that will lead a person to their death pleasingly and elegantly. However, a Lithuanian man conceptualized the idea of gently exiting the afterlife by combining mechanical engineering, materials science, and gravity.
What is Euthanasia Roller Coaster?
The euthanasia roller coaster is a hypothetical steel roller coaster designed to loop passengers to their deaths. Lithuanian artist Julijonas Urbonas, founder of the Lithuanian Space Agency and an associate professor at Vilnius Academy of Arts, designed it.
The hypothetical machine would be 4.5 miles long and stand 1600 feet in the air. These measurements support the key elements of the proposed ride, which include the huge drop to keep the car moving and a series of seven loops that will kill people at a deadly speed.
As the passengers ride the track, they are subjected to a series of extreme motion that prompts unique experiences. First, the riders are lifted to the top of the rail 500 meters high and then suddenly dropped down. Upon entering the first loop, the passengers are pushed against their seats so much that the blood is forced into the human body's extremities for a minute. This is because as the blood goes down, none is left at the upper part of the body.
At this point, an intense euphoria is created by the extreme ride. However, the passenger is exposed to prolonged cerebral hypoxia or insufficient oxygen supply to the brain. This is followed by loss of consciousness induced by the acceleration of gravity as fast as 32.3. feet per second squared at sea level. Finally, the passenger will face their final moment.
Although this sounds painful, Urbonas claims that this is the opposite. It is because as the brain starts to suffocate, the passenger experiences euphoria. It means having pleasure before dying.
What is the Purpose of the Euthanasia Roller Coaster?
Urbonas designed and made the hypothetical machine into a scale model in 2010. It was first introduced in 2011 in the Science Gallery at Trinity College in Dublin during one of its futuristic science shows.
Urbonas used his pilot training knowledge and g-force adjustments to build the euthanasia roller coaster. He wants to offer an alternative way to die other than the "medicalized, secularized, and sterilized" approach. He also aims to introduce a ritual of euphoric death instead of being surrounded by machines and tubes.
As a thought experiment, the machine does not exist in reality, nor was it meant to. Urbonas clarified that it is a conceptual art project meant to kill people with euphoria and thrill. More than ten years after it was proposed, the intriguing idea of pleasurable death still resonates. In 2016, a video creator named Kester made a simulation of the machine and posted it on his YouTube channel Planet Coaster.
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