Detroit giant slide reopens to brave and curious; ‘It hurt’
Detroit giant slide reopens to brave and curious; ‘It hurt’
Attendees go down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
Attendees go down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
A man goes down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
Attendees go down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
Attendees go down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
Attendees go down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
Attendees go down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
A man goes down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
A man goes down the giant slide at Belle Isle state park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. The slide re-opened after a slick surface sent people flying a week ago. Authorities scrubbed down the surface and sprayed water on the slide to help control the speed. (Ed Pevos/MLive.com via AP)
DETROIT (AP) — A giant slide in Detroit reopened Friday to people willing to see if its modified surface was a bit tamer, days after video went viral of riders getting bounced around on the bumpy ramp.
The Department of Natural Resources scrubbed the surface at Belle Isle state park, sprayed water and advised riders to lean forward in their burlap sack. Indeed, some people found the slide more comfortable than it had been.
WDIV-TV reporter Nick Monacelli told viewers in a live report that the slide was slower.
“It helps,” he said of adding water. “I still don’t get it, the friction, but it helps.”
Video of high-flying riders last weekend has ricocheted around social media and even earned a mention on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” It also inspired Detroit rapper Gerald Allen, who performs as Gmac Cash, to write a song.
“It’s like jumping off a roof,” he sang. “Man, you can lose a tooth.”
Cash showed up Friday to give the slide a try. He said his eyes were closed.
“I ain’t gettin’ back on it. ... It was bumpy. It hurt,” Cash told WDET-FM.