Detroit has always held a place in the American mythos as the embodiment of toughness, grit and resilience. Every American-made car commercial is basically some version of the sentence before this one. That toughness is embodied perfectly in a certain Detroit landmark that has suddenly reached national prominence: the Giant Slide at Belle Isle. Built in the 1960s, the Giant Slide was once an attraction known only to the children of Detroit who climbed 40 feet into the sky overlooking the US-Canada border to brave its metallic fury in a burlap sack. After years of being closed down for safety reasons, the slide reopened last week and immediately became a social media sensation as riders proved exactly why the slide had been closed for safety reasons.
The slide closed four hours later and reopened after adjustments were made, slowing down the speed of the slide and thus ruining most of the fun for spectators. After a thorough analysis of the footage obtained before the slide was “fixed”, we at FTW have determined the top five Giant Slide highlights so far and present them to you here.
