What Is The Euthanasia Coaster? The Lethal Roller Coaster Explained

Roller coaster fans might be daredevils of sorts, but there's one rumored coaster they probably wouldn't want to try due to its notorious reputation online. Though it promises riders a once-in-a-lifetime ride, it also intentionally kills its passengers by the time the ride ends.

Here's everything you need to know about the Euthanasia Coaster, from who invented it to how it became an internet meme.

What Is The Euthanasia Coaster?

Simply put, it's the roller coaster that kills its passengers. It is, of course, hypothetical. Among numerous other reasons, it would be difficult to find a theme part to invest in a ride that kills its target audience.

Back in 2010, a Lithuanian artist and Ph.D. Candidate, Julijonas Urbonas, designed a roller coaster that would effectively kill its passengers by the end of the ride, "with elegance and euphoria." Here's what it looks like:

How Does The Euthanasia Coaster Work?

The Euthanasia Coaster starts with an absurdly high hill of 500 feet. It then takes passengers down a steep drop, one fast enough to accelerate the coaster to incredibly unsafe levels. Then, the coaster immediately flips through a series of loops, each getting smaller, in order to subject its riders to a continuous G-force of 10G, which is deadly.

During the coaster's 7.5-kilometer-long run, its passengers would find themselves passing out rather quickly. As the coaster continues, not enough oxygen can flow to the brain in this state, eventually leading to a state called cerebral apoxia, causing death.

What Do People Think About The Euthanasia Coaster?

It seems they find it pretty intriguing. Though no one's willing to sponsor this architectural endeavor, it's become a running joke online since as early as 2012.

It first gained traction on Tumblr, but the absurdity of the concept led to it spreading quickly to every corner of the internet.

Sometimes it's even used as a reaction image to send someone a particular message in online arguments. Others speculate on how to improve the Euthanasia Coaster's design in order to make it a much faster ride, even though it would be a lot less fun(?) without the G-forces and endless loops.

For the full history of the Euthanasia Coaster, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.