I have seen the future of bumper cars ...

... and I'm not happy.

When I was young (and, let's be frank, still) the purpose of going on bumper cars was to attempt to inflict injuries on people in the other bumper cars, whilst avoiding such injuries yourself.* The best way to do this was to hit people when they weren't expecting it, ideally when they were braced for a different impact. (When someone has just run into someone head on, they are braced for a forward impact - this is the ideal time to hit them on the side or back).'

Today we went to Santa Monica Pier. Bought tickets for the bumper cars, and then went to find them. But they weren't there. There was an empty tent.

Eventually I found them. And they weren't like proper bumper cars.

First, they get their electricity through the floor - no tall masts with exciting sparks on the mesh ceiling any more. (It's quite an elegant solution - I thought about how that might work for a while - it must be AC, not DC, I've decided. And would their be sparks if I were to drop a piece of metal there?)



Second, they are surrounded by inner tubes. When they crash, they just bounce off each other in a gentle, and not even potentially a little bit painful, fashion.



Because they are rubber, they don't slip past each other. Daniel discovered that you can pin someone to the wall, and stop them moving until the ride is over and then they cry.


*Obviously within the legal parameters of bumper cars - you could just get out and hit them if you really wanted to inflict injury.