A terrifying simulation has given viewers a front-seat experience of what it would be like to ride the infamous euthanasia rollercoaster that "kills everyone".
First introduced in 2010 by Lithuanian designer and artist Julijonas Urbonas, the rollercoaster has been described as a "hypothetic death machine in the form of a roller coaster, engineered to humanely, with elegance and euphoria, take the life of a human being".
While it has never been built, a TikTok simulation now offers a terrifyingly realistic look at how such a ride, which reportedly holds 24 passengers, might play out.
Shared by user @ridesnslides, the video simulates the ride’s mechanics and visual experience.
The video begins with a slow ascent to a towering 510 feet, just shy of the tallest building in America. Once at the peak, riders are given a final choice: descend safely or continue. If they choose the latter, each must manually press a button to initiate the ride.
Watch the simulation below:The inversions are engineered with progressively smaller diameters to maintain a constant force of 10Gs - far beyond what most human bodies can withstand.
For comparison, Formula 1 drivers experience just over 6Gs during sharp turns, and Apollo 16 astronauts encountered 7.19Gs during re-entry.
“You would gradually begin experiencing worsening cases of cerebral hypoxia, meaning your blood would rush to the lower parts of your body, and so your brain wouldn’t be getting enough oxygen to survive,” the user said, cited by Vice.
“The first thing that you would notice is your vision greying out, which would then gradually turn to tunnel vision. From there, you would begin experiencing a blackout, and ultimately, you would eventually lose consciousness and die," they added.
Originally designed as a theoretical project while Urbonas was a PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art in London, a scale model of the rollercoaster was unveiled in 2011 at Dublin’s Science Gallery as part of the HUMAN+ exhibit.
The project went on to win the Public Prize of New Technological Art at Update 2013 and has since become a “unique media phenomenon".
The idea of using engineered devices to aid in euthanasia has gained wider attention in recent years. Another controversial concept is the “Sarco machine,” developed by Dr. Philip Nitschke, founder of the euthanasia advocacy group Exit International.
In an interview with SWI swissinfo.ch given in 2021, Nitschke explained: “It’s a 3-D printed capsule, activated from the inside by the person intending to die," cited by Right to Life.
“The machine can be towed anywhere for the death. The person will get into the capsule and lie down… They will be asked a number of questions, and when they have answered, they may press the button inside the capsule, activating the mechanism in their own time," he said.
“The person will get into the capsule and lie down… They will be asked a number of questions, and when they have answered, they may press the button inside the capsule, activating the mechanism in their own time," he continued.
Describing the actual manner of death, Nitschke said: “The capsule is sitting on a piece of equipment that will flood the interior with nitrogen, rapidly reducing the oxygen level to 1 per cent from 21 per cent in about 30 seconds. The person will feel a little disoriented and may feel slightly euphoric before they lose consciousness. Death takes place through hypoxia and hypocapnia, oxygen and carbon dioxide deprivation, respectively”.