"Bye Bye Birdie" question: what's with the "loop-the-loop" references?

[bbernardini]

I'm doing this show with my middle school students, and none of us are quite sure what the "loop-the-loop" references mean. For example, Hugo says:

"They're out together having moonlight swims and motorboat races and loop-the-loop!"

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. It's about having anal sex while snuffing negroes with a tire iron

Actually, I have no idea.

I can only assume it's a sexual reference, esp. given the time that that musical was written.

[warrens]

2. I think it referred to roller coasters or a primitive form thereof

[GalleryGod]

3. Loop-D'-Loop were RollerCoasters

And now a word from our sponsor...

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. There were no loop-the-loop roller coasters

at the time Birdie was created/written.

[mac56]

7. Not true

The first loop-the-loop coaster was built in 1901.

[Whoa_Nelly]

8. Actually in the 1850s, however...read on re: RC history

http://www.cinternet.net/~bowersda/history.htm

<snip>
During this early point in coaster history, the first attempt at a loop-the-loop was made in France, in the 1850's. This ride called the Centrifuge Railway, featured a early coaster car (a seat attached to a chassis) that would travel through a loop with nothing but sheer centrifugal force holding both the car to the track, and the rider to the car. This idea was quickly put to death by wary government officials who stopped it's introduction after one accident.

<snip>
In 1898, another person tried the loop-the-loop design. Named the Flip-Flap Railway. This ride used a true circle loop, rather than the clothoid loops used today. The ride had one problem, however, the forced in the loop were so strong, they snapped riders necks. Not discouraged, the built the Loop-the-loop, this time with an oval loop. Although the ride was allright from a safety standpoint, it was bad from a profit standpoint. A low capacity ride, 4 people per 5 minutes, and bad memories of the Flip Flap Coaster kept this one out of the hall of fame, as it were. It soon dropped out of existence.

<snip>
In 1955 Disneyland opened, and the theme park era was on. While theme parks are often cited as the main reason traditional parks are failing, Disney helped bring a new form of the roller coaster to the national spotlight. Matterhorn Mountain, built in 1959, it is the first tubular steel coaster, made by Arrow. The ride did not do any loops or anything fancy, just a gradual series of dips through a mountain. This also made an unofficial line of demarcation, immediately steel coasters were for theme parks, and wood coasters were for traditional parks.

<snip>
In 1975 Arrow designed the first successful inverting roller-coaster, the Corkscrew. This ride features 2 inversions and little else, as the emphasis on the ride was more for the novelty value of going upside down. Some parks have added a vertical loop or two to the ride.

[henslee]

15. Wow, the amusement park experts sure responded. pic...

[Whoa_Nelly]

17. Atlantic City 1902

The Loop the Loop or Flip Flap Railway opened on Young's Pier in Atlantic City, NJ in 1902. Although many passengers complained of neck and back injuries, the coaster lasted an amazing 10 years after closing in 1912. This postcard of the Loop the Loop in Atlantic City was dated 1903.



So....
Shut my mouth and I take a step back.

THe Birdie loop-the-loop is probably a reference to this...maybe?

[henslee]

18. In the old days, when you complained of a back injury, they gave you

a hot dog and said scram. Today, they have insurance.

[GalleryGod]

29. Tell Chuck Barris..when he wrote "Palisades Park" for Freddy Cannon (1959)

He refers to the RIDE the Loop-D-Loop..if our departed Pal, Longgrain, were still here...he'd probably fetch us a picture of the ride:think:

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. It's Cockney slang for soup....but

also:

loop-the-loop:
1. Or: loop-de-loop , American slang of the 1970s for simultaneous fellatio and/or cunnilingus between individuals of the same or opposite-sex in the 69 position .

http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Dictionary/loop-the-loop

So have to wonder in the case of Bye Bye Birdie if it's an inference to having real sex...?

However, more closely matching in the cross-generational terms of the Birdie era, probably is a reference to the loop-the-loop bicycle trick of the early 1900s, and makes more sense.

To loop the loop (1902) originally was a stunt of bicycle-riding.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=l&p=11

[In_The_Wind]

6. Holy Crap!

Damn I really am innocent! I had no idea!

[Sanity Claws]

19. A dancing pickle!

Someone else has a dancing banana. They should get together, don't you think?

[In_The_Wind]

20. Bring a lil whipped cream and we can call it a party!

:woohoo:

[Sanity Claws]

21. Pickle, banana, and whipped cream?

Are you pregnant?
:)

[In_The_Wind]

23. Let's add a few strawberries, just for the heck of it !

AND ~ Since NO I'm not expecting anything more than fun ...
we can leave the dancing pickle alone.



:hi:

[skygazer]

13. Wow! Explain THAT to the middle school kids

Or tell them it was a bicycle trick. :eyes:

[mykpart]

9. Isn't there a YoYo trick called loop the loop?

Really, though, I think it's a carnival ride.

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. One more guess

Seems like it might be more in context: cruising, "American Graffiti" style.

Names for cruising varied by locale. Where I did it, it was simply "Cruisin' Main" or "Going uptown." About 45 miles south, where they cruised a long, circular route, it was "Shootin' the Loop."

Interesting about the "69" reference, though. I wasn't aware of that either.

[book lady]

11. I thought it was a dance like the hokey pokey...

[caty]

12. When I was in high school

we would go out on week end evenings and drive through all the fast food restaurants' parking lots to see who was there. We called it "looping".:shrug:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

14. From the Blues Brother's Shake Your Tailfeather song?

There is a Loop di loop line in the song. I know the Blues Brothers were later on, but maybe the song was written earlier.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

16. Found it! It's a dance

http://www.sixtiescity.com/Culture/dance.shtm

[book lady]

24. Here are the words to the song...

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/looby.htm

[tinfoilinfor2005]

26. Or the Blues Brother's version:

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/blues-brothers,-the/20774.html

[book lady]

27. I like that version better...

[Redstone]

22. When was it written? If in the 1920s during the "barnstorming" days,

it would have been a reference to the barnstormers looping their airplanes during airshows.

I've flown in a "jennie" which was a common barnstorming airplane, and let me tell you, it would have taken some courage to loop one of those things; they're mostly constructed of baling wire, cloth, and spit.

Redstone

[SIU_Blue]

25. fantastic piece of aviation history nonetheless

and famous for other reasons also

[bbernardini]

28. Thanks, everybody!

I think we'll go with "it's a dance". :)