Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@rhiannan_iffland
Topics: Viral, Social Media, Theme Park, Health
Jess Battison
Topics: Viral, Social Media, Theme Park, Health
A water slide in Austria got the internet chatting thanks to a viral video. And nope, it’s not because it’s said to be ‘Europe’s fastest’ or because of some cool design, it’s because of the ‘no women’ warning sign above it.
Yep, in a Yorkie-esque sight, women are banned from riding this vertical drop water slide at Area 47 water park. However, it’s for a much more valid, health and safety reason than just some blokes being all macho and making a chocolate bar just for them.
World champion diver Rhiannan Iffland recently went viral after deciding to ignore the important warning and go down the rapid slide anyway. Take a look:
Above the slide with a stomach-churningly steep vertical drop reads the sign: “Due to high risk of injury, women are not allowed to use this slide!”
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As Area 47 explained to LADbible, women aren’t banned from the attraction due to ‘sexist’ reasons but really due to the chance of them getting some absolutely horrific injuries from it.
In recent years alone there have been some nightmarish reports of women getting their insides ‘ripped apart’ by high-speed water slides.
According to the National Library of Medicine in the US, females can sustain terrible injuries if high pressured water goes into their body.
That’s as well as the risk of infections due to the foreign bodies found in that water.
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And Area 47 said that when the water park was built back in 2009, it ‘did not intend to create a men-only attraction’.
"Initially, this particular slide was open to both women and men,” a spokesperson explained. “However, in the second year, we noticed a significant increase in accidents on this slide, which required us to take action.”
The water park then consulted with doctors and the authorities as well as the manufacturer of the slide which ‘led to a difficult decision’: “Either disassemble the water slide or restrict its use to men only, as it stands now.”
They continued: “Our highest priority is ensuring the safety and happiness of all our guests, regardless of gender.
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“The risks for women using this slide were tragically highlighted a few years ago when a woman was severely injured on a similar slide in the Canary Islands.”
After her risky clip went viral online, Iffland told news.com.au: “It was never my intent to mock the safety regulations of this water slide. A person’s safety is paramount and I am constantly weighing up any danger with my job.
"To suggest otherwise, is wrong.”