Revenge of the ride operators!
As a ride operator, you have to deal with a certain amount of crap from the public. There are pushy parents, bratty kids, obnoxious teens showing off for girls, and the general attitude that you're just a part of the ride and not a human being.

Most rides are pretty simple to operate, usually consisting of a power switch and a brake lever or some such. Ferris wheels, for instance- just a lever that you push over one way to engage a clutch and the other way to engage the brake. The operator doesn't have much control over the actions of the machine when it's started- with a few exceptions.

My favorite, the Tilt-A-Whirl:



As you can see, you sit in a semicircular car that pivots around the central point of the circle as it goes up and down over an inclined track. You think can get the thing to really swing by leaning one way or the other, but in reality you can't- so the operator occasionally hits the brake lever to make them swing.

I was very good at that.

So occasionally I would get a car of obnoxious kids that gave me attitude, and I would keep careful track of them and hit the brake at just the right moments to make their car spin like a spastic ballerina, whipping them around until the centrifugal force made their vomit spray all over the place- and then spin them a little more for good measure, pretending I didn't see them heaving. I would send them, gray and moaning and staggering, back to their parents to deal with their smelly whimpering brats. I would then close down the ride for a half hour while I got out the hoses and Lysol and washed the cars, then let them dry, thereby taking a nice little mid-shift break.

I loved running that ride.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Sat 11 Jun 2011, 16:20, 5 replies)

Ladies and gentlemen, carnival folk
the best people in the world.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Sat 11 Jun 2011, 18:25, closed)

Damn! I read that as Tit-a-Whirl and was expecting tales of how boobs were made to twirl as you tweaked the controls of the fairground ride!!!
( Vambo, Sat 11 Jun 2011, 18:43, closed)

Actually
there was more than once when a girl lost her top on that ride, but it had nothing to do with me. Had I found that particular Philosopher's Stone I certainly would have used it quite a bit, though.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Sat 11 Jun 2011, 18:58, closed)

Tilt-A-Whirl? That's a Waltzer, if ever I saw one.
My brother and I have had one to ourselves, a couple of times: once at Butlins (Bognor) and once on Brighton Pier. Each time, we got an extra long, very variable speed ride, so it would seem your not alone in your mission to make the little buggers chuck up!

Horrible things, I really don't know why I ever go on them.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Sun 12 Jun 2011, 19:56, closed)

they're very good at centrifuging
all the coins out of your pockets as well so check your acsh after the ride stops...
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Sun 12 Jun 2011, 21:04, closed)