The Zyklon name controversial?......Who knew?

I was reading a bit about the Fratelli Pinfari coaster, 'Zyklon' and came across this interesting article of how the Zyklon name has a much different connotation than 'a day at the park' for some.

Read on

http://www.jewishsf.com/bk990806/bnzyklon.shtml

-M
------------------
If Barbie is so popular...why do you have to buy her friends?

People are just too freakin soft nowadays! It's already past the border of pathetic and quickly approaching hysterical! Don't these people have anything better to do?

It's about time people stop being so damn soft! Not everyone is out to attack your religion or your way of life. Get over yourselves and move on with your life!

------------------
Corey
"Afterward, services resumed for about 20 minutes until the congregation realized the church was on fire." - www.channel3000.com
*** This post was edited by rOLLocOASt 10/9/2003 1:24:01 AM ***

Interesting. You learn something new everyday.

Heck, you can't even find Zyklon in the dictionary. So to the world of words, this one doesn't exist.

I agree Rollocoast. To make an issue out of this is just ridiculous.

Are there any Jewish members here that even thought that this name of a rollercoaster was offensive? I haven't heard anything.

So I guess if I lost a loved one to a snakebite, should I be offended with a coaster named Viper?

If I lost a friend in a Running of the Bulls event, should I be offended with a coaster named "Raging Bull"?

If I was totally against porno flicks, should I be offended with a coaster named "X"? :)

Life is to short to get bent out of shape on the small things, especially certain named coasters.

------------------
Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"
*** This post was edited by Chitown 10/9/2003 1:33:43 AM ***

Being half Italian, I find this coaster extremely offensive. They should TAER it down.

------------------
-Mike Buscema

'No matter how skilled the designer is, every time we push the envelope we learn new things about coaster design.' --Dana Morgan
------------------

Just to clear up some of the possible confusion, Zyklon is a regular German word for "cyclone", though not very popular (people seem to prefer to call them Wirbelsturm or "Hurrican" these days).
However, since Zyklon-B gas was used for mass murder in the Nazi concentration camps, the word "Zyklon" will forever have this conotation at least in the German language.
Calling a coaster "Zyklon" is not really a good idea, at least not in Germany. Somehow, using German names for things abroad (except maybe Oktoberfest) always seems to bring up some thought of Nazi Germany. It's a pity, and yet, it's a good idea to remember what happened here 67-58 years ago.
*** This post was edited by superman 10/9/2003 5:38:27 AM ***

superman said:
Somehow, using German names for things abroad (except maybe Oktoberfest) always seems to bring up some thought of Nazi Germany. It's a pity, and yet, it's a good idea to remember what happened here 67-58 years ago.

If I remeber correctly, at least during the sixties and seventies, american showmen would buy german rides right from the spot from german fairs and ship them to the US. Many of them just kept the german name because it would be somehow exotic (Schwabinchen (which is not really a word), Bayern Kurve, etc.).

If this was not associated with the Nazis back then, why should it do so today? I agree that Zyklon could be on the edge of tastelessness for concerned people, but those would be offended by everything.

Hellevator, anyone?

------------------
i was a teenage rollercoaster designer

As a Christian, these coasters:

http://www.rcdb.com/quicksearch.htm?quicksearch=devil

...greatly offend me.

------------------
A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Actually this whole flap came up during the 1980's here in Wisconsin. The Jewish community lobbied the state government here to not allow the Zyklon coaster at the Wisconsin State Fair unless it's name was changed. That is why when you come to the State Fair, even to this day, that they don't put up the signage for the ride with the name on it and they usually have some name for it written on cardboard.

------------------
Bob Hansen
Operation Wicked Twister 2 - Goal: Lose 100 pounds by next season so I will DEFINATELY be able to ride Wicked Twister. Progress: 14 pounds. Doin' the Atkins!

That's because I'm SURE that, when the coaster was first designed and needed a name, the first thing on the designers' minds was a lethal gas that was used in Nazi Germany.

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Maybe we should just ban the entire German language and use a giant saw to saw Germany out of Europe, and push it out to sea, never to be heard from again. I'd hate to let a culture offend someone.

------------------
A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

There are some things that are offensive but some stuff is just dumb. It seems like people nowadays just look for things to piss them off.

------------------
"Do what you believe in and believe in what you do," Jeffrey E. McCants

People always gotta complain about something...

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I can understand the furor to an extent...but you don't hear the Gypsies, homosexual community, Union organizers (yes, they were imprisoned too), Poles, Jehovah's Witnesses or any other group marked for eradication by Hitler's regime raising the same hue and cry.

Another thought: 'Blitzkrieg' was the term coined for the German style of battle in WWII...so why aren't there protests every Football Sunday when the coach calls for that play?

-'Playa

------------------
The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 10/9/2003 10:50:57 AM ***

I remember coming across articles about the controversy years ago when I used to have to rely on the library's microfilm collection instead of the internet to get my coaster info. I'm actually surprised that so many of the installations retained the name. Not that it's inherently offensive, but words can take on negative connotation... which is why we have the Washington Wizards now. Ugh.

------------------
Colin D.
Ask about my references!

I can see if the term was used in an offensive way, then maybe be the people with the issue might have an argument. But considering Zyklon is the name of a coaster and blitzkrieg is a football play (or part of a Ramones song), I don't see how there is much to be said about it.

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I never new about Zyklon B till I went to the Holocoust Museaum in D.C. earlier this year(I suggest it to anybody while in D.C.), and as One of Jehovah's Witnesses, I'm not, as Playa points out, offended. I'm Informed:). I knew the origin of the word Zyklone in German and did some reserch(wich would probably be a good idea for anybody off on an 'I'm offened' trip).

Its a shame that people can be offended by things like this, esp. when the meaning is so far from what they try to make it out to be.

Reminds me of the Family Guy episode when Stuie and the dog are in German. The entire country was on vacation during that time, for cryin out loud, who'd a thunk?;)

"Ve ver on Vacation!!!!!"

------------------
I'm Baaaack...

I agree.

The word has a double meaning.

Now, something like 'Anthrax Twister', that would be a different story.

-M

------------------
If Barbie is so popular...why do you have to buy her friends?

Its funny that no one complained about the band Anthrax until the whole issue with the USPS arose after 9/11.

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

its just like "Banshee" at CP(though they have 'Wicked' Twister). there are other names i'm sure. heck, people hit by a hurricane probably don't like that word much, and how many of those are there? I know that Hurricane Cat. 5 in MB is in a place often hit by them...its so annoying to be "politically correct" sometimes.

------------------
I'm Baaaack...

Surprising that SFKK's Hellevator has escaped the quest for correctness all these years, too.

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002