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Rampage (roller Coaster)
Rampage is a wooden roller coaster located at Alabama Splash Adventure in Bessemer, Alabama. Manufactured and built by Custom Coasters International, with design from Larry Bill, the roller coaster original opened with the inter-municipal cooperative owned Vision Land amusement park on May 23, 1998. Rampage continued to operate until 2002, closing for the entire season due to the principle owners filing for bankruptcy. The roller coaster reopened on May 26, 2003, under the Southland Entertainment Group ownership, until its second closure in 2012 under General Attractions. Rampage sat dormant for four years, before being renovated in 2014 by owners Dan and Natalie Koch; later reopening for the 2015 season. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of , a maximum speed of , and a total track length of . Constructed at the cost of $4.3 million dollars, the design of Rampage was inspired by another CCI-built roller coaster, Megafobia, located at Oakwood Theme Park. Rampage feature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twister Roller Coaster
A twister roller coaster is the generic name given to any roller coaster layout which tends to twist or interweave its track within itself several times. It is essentially the opposite of an Out and Back roller coaster, which is often a much more simplistic layout. Twister roller coasters often have the illusion of having small or tight clearances due to the track usually travelling through several support structures. This is known as a head chopper effect. Twister roller coasters were unheard of before the 1920s. John Miller is credited with inventing upstop wheels and secure lap bar restraints, both which led roller coaster designers to create wilder and twistier layouts. A good example of the difference between an out and back design and twister design is layouts of Apollo's Chariot and Raging Bull, two Bolliger & Mabillard designed hypercoaster A hypercoaster can mean one of two things: *Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inter-municipal Cooperation
Inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) is a generic term for all joint provision of public services between municipalities, who are normally but not necessarily neighbours. Municipalities are elements of administration and have a history of several hundred years in Europe. One speaks of IMC when two or more municipalities work together to provide a public service, where cooperation ranges from coordinated behaviour to joint ventures. As territorial consolidation often fails because of political resistance, inter-municipal cooperation is a way to keep public services efficient and effective without territorial consolidation. However, IMC can have high failure rates when coordination problems between municipalities in steering and monitoring cannot be resolved. Unfortunately, coordination can be hard to achieve due to the multiple principal problem that exists in inter-municipal cooperation. In addition, its cost-efficiency can be limited. History Cooperation of municipalities is a conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chapter 9 Bankruptcy
Chapter 9, Title 11, United States Code is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, available exclusively to municipalities and assisting them in the restructuring of their debt. On July 18, 2013, Detroit, Michigan became the largest city in the history of the United States to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2011, and Orange County, California, in 1994, are also notable examples. The term 'municipality' denotes "a political subdivision or public agency or instrumentality of a State," but does not include a state itself. States are therefore unable to file for bankruptcy, even though they have defaulted in their obligations. History The first municipal bankruptcy legislation was enacted in 1934 during the Great Depression. Although Congress attempted to draft the legislation so as not to interfere with the sovereign powers of the states guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, the Supreme Court held the 1934 Act un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Test Dummy
A crash test dummy, or simply dummy, is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body during a traffic collision. Dummies are used by researchers, automobile and aircraft manufacturers to predict the injuries a person might sustain in a crash. Modern dummies are usually instrumented to record data such as velocity of impact, crushing force, bending, folding, or torque of the body, and deceleration rates during a collision. Prior to the development of crash test dummies, automobile companies tested using human cadavers, animals and live volunteers. Cadavers have been used to modify different parts of a car, such as the seatbelt. This type of testing may provide more realistic test results than using a dummy, but it raises ethical dilemmas because human cadavers and animals are not able to consent to research studies. Animal testing is not prevalent today. Computational models of the hum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleasant Grove, Alabama
Pleasant Grove is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area. Its nickname is "The Good Neighbor City". At the 2020 census, the population was 9,544. History It was established in 1889, but incorporated as a city in January 1937. The incorporation came about by reason of a rather unusual circumstance. The town sits on land honeycombed by coal mines. For many years, the residents had relied on water wells for their water supply. As years passed and more mining was done, Pleasant Grove found itself confronted with a problem. Residents would sometimes go to their well to draw water only to find there was none. The water had gone into the mines. During the mid to late 1930s, the Federal Government had a program for financing the building of local water systems. In exploring the possibility of securing such funds, it was revealed that in order to secure such financing a community must be legally incorporated. At this time the incorpor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topping Out
In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlayed into a media event for public relations purposes. It has since come to mean more generally finishing the structure of the building, whether there is a ceremony or not. Also commonly used to determine the amount of wind on the top of the structure. History The practice of "topping out" a new building can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious rite of placing a tree atop a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. Long an important component of timber frame building, it migrated initially to England and Northern Europe, thence to the Americas. A tree or leafy branch is placed on the topmost wood or iron beam, often with flags and streamers tied to it. A toast is usually drunk and sometimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NewsBank
NewsBank is a news database resource that provides archives of media publications as reference materials to libraries. History John Naisbitt, the author of the book ''Megatrends'', founded NewsBank.Andrews 1998, p. 17. The company was launched in 1972. NewsBank was bought from Naisbitt by Daniel S. Jones, who subsequently became its president. Naisbitt left NewsBank in 1973.McClellan 1987, p. 87. In 1983, NewsBank acquired Readex. With the completion of the merger, NewsBank had acquired one of the earliest organizations in America to archive microform. In 1986, NewsBank had one hundred employees in-house. Another one hundred employees worked from home and traveled to the company's headquarters, bringing back newspapers to their residence from there, and then coming back to the company with indexed information on these publications. The company's headquarters in 1986 was in New Canaan, Connecticut.Andrews 1998, p. 18. Chris Andrews was brought on in 1986 as product manager for CD ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham News
''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two sister Alabama newspapers, the ''Press-Register'' in Mobile and ''The Huntsville Times'', moved to a thrice-weekly print-edition publication schedule (Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays). In November 2022, Advance management announced that all three newspapers would cease publication of their print editions in 2023. History The ''Birmingham News'' was launched on March 14, 1888, by Rufus N. Rhodes as ''The Evening News'', a four-page paper with two reporters and $800 of operating capital. At the time, the city of Birmingham was only 17 years old, but was an already booming industrial city and a beacon of the "New South" still recovering from the aftermath of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Newspapers joined with industrial tycoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundation (engineering)
In engineering, a foundation is the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, transferring loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep. Foundation engineering is the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics (geotechnical engineering) in the design of foundation elements of structures. Purpose Foundations provide the structure's stability from the ground: * To distribute the weight of the structure over a large area in order to avoid overloading the underlying soil (possibly causing unequal settlement). * To anchor the structure against natural forces including earthquakes, floods, droughts, frost heaves, tornadoes and wind. * To provide a level surface for construction. * To anchor the structure deeply into the ground, increasing its stability and preventing overloading. * To prevent lateral movements of the supported structure (in some cases). Requirements of a good foundation The design and the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Anniston Star
''The Anniston Star'' is the daily newspaper serving Anniston, Alabama, and the surrounding six-county region. Average Sunday circulation in September 2004 was 26,747. However, by 2020 it was approximately half of this. The newspaper is locally owned by Consolidated Publishing Company, which is controlled by the Ayers family of Anniston. As of 2020, the paper operated as a "digital-first" publication, and was putting out only three print editions each week. History The paper was first published in 1883 as the ''Anniston Evening Star.'' It traces its modern history to 1911, when managing editor Col. Harry M. Ayers left to start his own paper, the ''Anniston Hot Blast''—a nod to Anniston's roots as a steel town. By 1912, the ''Hot Blast'' had become Anniston's largest newspaper, and was more than large enough to absorb the ''Evening Star''. Although the merged paper was initially called the ''Anniston Hot Blast and Evening Star'', the ''Hot Blast'' name was eventually dropped. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wooden Roller Coaster
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be made of steel lattice or truss, which has no bearing on a wooden coaster's classification. The type of wood often selected in the construction of wooden coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine, which grows abundantly in the southern United States, due to its density and adherence to different forms of pressure treatment. Early wooden roller coaster design of the 19th century featured a single set of wheels running on top of the track, which was common in scenic railway rides. John A. Miller introduced side friction coasters and later underfriction coasters in the early 20th century, which added additional sets of wheels running along multiple sides of the track to allow for more intense ride design with sharper turns and steeper d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minecart
A minecart or mine cart (also known as a mine trolley or mine hutch) is a type of rolling stock found on a mine railway, used for moving ore and materials procured in the process of traditional mining. Minecarts are seldom used in modern operations, having largely been superseded in underground operations (especially coal mines) by more efficient belt conveyor systems that allow machines such as longwall shearers and continuous miners to operate at their full capacity, and above ground by large dumpers. Terminology Throughout the world, there are different titles for mine carts. In South Africa, a minecart is referred to as a ; in German, it is called (alternative spelling ). In Wales, minecarts are known as drams. In the U.S. and elsewhere, the term skip – or skip wagon (older spelling: ''waggon'') – is used. (See: Skip (container)#Etymology) In particular, a V skip wagon is a side-tipping skid with a V-shaped body. (Images) Design and operation Minecarts range in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
