By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/get-line-dare-worlds-tallest-water-slide-opens-thursday Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Get in line if you dare — world’s tallest water slide opens Thursday Nation Jul 8, 2014 3:47 PM EDT http://youtu.be/NG-uY2wze2Y?t=4s It’s named the Verrückt, which in German means “insane”. At 168 feet tall, or 17 stories high, it has the seal of approval from Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest water slide. To be among the first to ride it, get in line on Thursday at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, but be forewarned: its opening has already been delayed twice for additional testing. The first humans to take the test plunge were the slide’s engineer and the designer of the water park, seen in the video above. Those brave enough to try the slide will ride in four-person rafts at speeds of 60 to 70 per hour. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin is an Emmy and Peabody award winning producer at the PBS NewsHour. In her two decades at the NewsHour, Baldwin has crisscrossed the US reporting on issues ranging from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan to tsunami preparedness in the Pacific Northwest to the politics of poverty on the campaign trail in North Carolina. Farther afield, Baldwin reported on the problem of sea turtle nest poaching in Costa Rica, the distinctive architecture of Rotterdam, the Netherlands and world renowned landscape artist, Piet Oudolf. @lornabaldwin
http://youtu.be/NG-uY2wze2Y?t=4s It’s named the Verrückt, which in German means “insane”. At 168 feet tall, or 17 stories high, it has the seal of approval from Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest water slide. To be among the first to ride it, get in line on Thursday at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, but be forewarned: its opening has already been delayed twice for additional testing. The first humans to take the test plunge were the slide’s engineer and the designer of the water park, seen in the video above. Those brave enough to try the slide will ride in four-person rafts at speeds of 60 to 70 per hour. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now