I never go to Hoopty Rides looking for kid-related enlightenment, but when I find it there, it's always superlative. Of a Missouri amusement ride company's recent liquidation auction, Mister Hoopty wrote:
One assumes that intellectual property [being sold] includes the rights to the wormy apple kiddie ride. Kids LOVE to ride in a wormy apple, especially if your co-pilot is the worm. Is this a Richard Scarry character? I wonder if I could just buy the Richard Scarry kiddie ride licensing agreement - making the bold assumption that it is licensed. Riding with the Lion in the Model T roadster pick-up truck - now that would be a kiddie ride.Not only is that a Scarry character, Lowly Worm, it's so licensed it has "The Busy World of Richard Scarry TM" painted on the side. A poke around flickr reveals that this particular model of Applemobile is a photogenic favorite.
Welovepandas has a whole set of children's ride photos, which is part of a Children's Rides pool in turn. I grew up with Scarry books--my little brother was obsessed with finding Goldbug--but I also grew up not being allowed to ride these things; I inherited my own parents' view of them as the shiftless, parking lot panhandlers of the kid ride world.
But judging from flickr, that's just me. To the outlet mall-shopping adults of our generation, [Hey-o, there's a Hello Kitty outlet in Gilroy??] Lowly Worm is the Pied Piper. No sooner do they see him, than they lose control of their senses, revert to their childhoods, and try desperately to run away with him to Busytown. See for yourself:
l: pengrin, r: baumish
l: arminv, r: karalyn13
Richard Scarry tag on flickr [flickr]
