Berlin’s Fire Department has invoiced the individuals whom it rescued last summer from a faulty amusement park ride with a bill to cover the costs of the operation. Due to a technical problem (most likely down to someone wedging a bratwurst in the cogs or something), the spinning wheel attraction known as “Star Gate” halted suddenly leaving the occupants of its rotating gondolas petrified and dangling 15m up in the air. 15m is, incidentally, 50ft in real money. And all that for the better part of an hour. That word – the one on the tip of your tongue – is, in case your wondering, Schadenfreude. Cough.
The fourteen have each been billed £250 (€281.43, $420) after the ride’s operator refused to pay. Said operants could, apparently, have rescued the people themselves and weren’t actually the ones who called the emergency services for assistance. Fairenoughskee, say I. Those lucky fourteen got a bit of a bargain considering the bonus adrenalin rush that the whole experience must have left them with – although I gather “Star Gate” is quite thrilling even when it’s working properly:
And yes, I believe that is vomit. . . .
