Luxembourg Bike Carousel, 1969

photo and commentary via aprilbaby at flickr.

"The playgrounds in Europe were the coolest. While I loved this ride, my favorite play area was in a park in Salamanca, Spain - where the lanes looked like mini-streets with stop signs and painted lines, so when you rode your bike you felt like a grown-up maneuvering the real road ways. Who knew that I'd grow up to hate the real roads. Back then, it looked like grown-ups were having all the fun. Another favorite playground was Children's Playground in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park; there, they still (I believe) have see-saws (aka teeter-totters). Unfortunately, few parks these days have them due to the lawsuit-fearing safety police. Can you imagine parks today with the equipment above? Think of all the skulls that could be cracked or fingers and toes tangled in spokes. I feel sorry for kids these days. I just read that fewer kids play in playgrounds today. Why? Too boring. They've become so safe children don't even want to waste their time. Who can blame them? The playgrounds in my area look about as much fun as those obstacle courses I make a point of avoiding. "