Roller Coasters originated from what before were called Russian Slides. The Russian Slides originated in the 1700’s. The were basically slides made completely out of ice. The were ridden with wooden sleds. They normally had bumps and jumps on them. You had to get permission to ride one because you could really get hurt if you didn't really know how to ride or use the sled. You also had to pay. There was sand put at the bottom of the slide to slow the sleds down.

A French guy came to Russia and took the idea. He created a Russian slide in France, but the ice of the ice slide melted due to the climate of France. He didn't give up on the idea though. He designed a slide that was weather proof. He made them out of wood. These slides had many drawbacks though. Accidents were more common on these slides than on the Russian ice slides. There were lots of fatal injuries and strangely, the more accidents they had, the more people it drew to them.

Next, the slides were made much safer for the public. They looked like the modern rollercoaster we have today ,but made out of wood and not as safe. They were just a big fall, and they the seats had to be pushed to the top manually.

A roller coaster or slide with a loop was attempted to be created in the late 1800’s. They had a carlike seat and worked by using centripetal force. This idea was quickly turned down by the government after one fatal accident.

Then came the gold rush. The next rollercoaster was created by miners. The carts they used to carry gold and the train track gave an idea to a man in the U.S. to try to build a slide. If first started out as a transportation system, not for entertainment, but it quickly turned into an amusement. A man took the idea, made it safer, and used simple machines to build what today is a modern rollercoaster. These first coasters were just falls and were built totally out of wood.

In 1955, Disneyland opened. The theme park era was on. Disney helped create a new type of roller coaster that became famous nation wide. They created the steel coasters. These coasters were completely made out of steel and later were modified to have loops.

In conclusion roller coasters began as slides at first.