YEREVAN STATE LINGUISTIC UNIVERSITY

OF LANGUAGES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AFTER V.BRYUSOV

FACULTY OF RUSSIAN AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES
CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT, 4TH YEAR
CLASSIFICATION ESSAY
LIANA PETROSYAN

TYPES OF PEOPLE ON ROLLER COASTERS

Everybody at least once in a lifetime goes to an amusement park and rides a roller coaster. Each of us can
undoubtedly remember our first ride: the screams, the swooshing noises of the coaster car cutting through the
wind1, the experience of terror and joy as you ride through all the hazardous drops, curves and loops. The constant
feeling of fear and excitement keeps people craving for another dose of tall vertical loops reaching up to 350 feet,
90 or 120 degree drops and extreme speeds: the fastest roller coaster called “Formula Rossa” reaches a top speed
of 240 km per hour2. But no matter the size, the height or the speed, would roller coasters be such a fun and
enjoyable activity without those who ride them? Depending on the differences in the reactions we can severalize
three groups of riders: adrenaline junkies, heebie-jeebies and cool cucumbers.
The adrenaline junkies, also known as sensation-seekers, desire to experience mixed emotions and life or
death situations. These people just can't imagine their lives without intense and thrilling activities as those
sensations are equal to taking a drug and give them an energy boost. Adrenaline junkies are most likely to rush to
the front roller car and, because one circle is never enough, will definitely ride it several times in a row with their
hands wide open in the air.
The heebie-jeebies or OMGs are scared to experience new and unknown emotions. They don't usually tend
to push themselves out of their comfort zone and are mostly convinced to ride such amusements by their friends
and family. Heebie-jeebies always sit next to a relative and grab hold of them or the coaster car. They close their
eyes during most of the ride and scream their lungs out when going through the loops. Some people even pass out
on their seats, then wake up and swear to never go back again.
The cool cucumbers are people who sit in their seats with absolutely zero emotions. You can never guess
what they think about, how they feel, whether they are happy or sad, excited or scared. They just keep a straight
face during the whole ride. No expressions, no signs of movement, no sounds, not even a small wrinkle on their
forehead. Feels like a scene from a fantasy movie: aliens have kidnapped humans and replaced them by robots.
Either one of these groups has a unique reaction to extreme situations. Whether you feel like Arnold
Schwarzenegger in the role of the Terminator defeating your enemies or like a victim in a horror movie trying to
run away from the monsters and escape the scary labyrinth, and even if you have just being abducted by giant green
aliens that control your actions telepathically and make you do some crazy things, the aftermath of the rides and
emotions is the same. You open your eyes sitting in the coaster car, your fantasies and fears disappear and you
returne to reality. And even later you might be surprised to catch yourself laughing at your reactions. At the end
roller coasters are not the scary monsters we imagine them to be.

1
MiaGreat - My First Roller Coaster - http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/personal-experience/article/875935/My-first-
roller-coaster
2
Emily Davies-Robinson - The World’s Most Dangerous Roller Coasters - http://lostwaldo.com/the-worlds-most-dangerous-
roller-coasters/