Carousel
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A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are traditionally in the form of rows of animal figures (usually horses) mounted on posts, many of which move up and down to simulate galloping. Sometimes chair-like or bench-like seats are used, and occasionally mounts can take the form of non-animals, such as airplanes or cars. Carousel rides are typically accompanied by looped circus music.
The word carousel derives from the French word carrousel, meaning little battle, a reference to European tournaments of the same name starting in the 17th century. Participants in these tournaments rode live horses and competed in various cavalry skill tests, such as ring jousting. By the end of that century, simple machines were created in which wooden horses were suspended from a spinning wheel mounted on top of a central pole, allowing competitors to practice ring jousting without tiring their horses. These early contraptions soon became common with traveling fairs in Europe, and by the 19th century, their popularity spread to North America, where they became staple attractions in traveling carnivals and some of the first purpose-built amusement parks. Most historic carousel animal figures, including those made during the golden age of carousels from the 1870s to the early 1930s, were made from wood, and were carved and painted by hand. Hand-carved wood was replaced with more economic aluminum castings and later fiberglass castings in the 20th century. Many carousels operate around the world today and are often used to symbolize the entire amusement industry.
History
Early carousels
In 17th-century Europe, equestrian royal tournaments known as "carrousels" (French for little battle) began to be held.<ref name="Hinds1990pp17–18">Template:Harvp.</ref> The most famous carrousel of this kind was held by Louis XIV in June 1662, in the courtyard of the Tuileries Palace, to celebrate the birth of his son and heir apparent. The site of the event, next to the Louvre, is still known as the "Place du Carrousel."<ref>Jacquin, Emmanuel, "Les Tuileries Du Louvre a la Concorde", (2000), pp. 14-15</ref> One of the skill tests performed during these events was ring jousting, a practice originally developed by 10th-century Arabian and Moorish horsemen in which rings suspended from posts or trees would be speared by a lance, sometimes at full gallop.<ref name="Hinds1990pp17–18"/> The noblemen participating in these tournaments often overworked their horses while practicing, so an early device was developed in the late 17th century to allow participants to practice ring jousting without the need for riding horses.<ref name="Hinds1990pp17–18"/> It consisted of wooden horses suspended from a wheel mounted on a central pole, which was spun by a work horse walking around the contraption's perimeter.<ref name="Hinds1990pp17–18"/>
Template:Quote box Devices like these became popular among commoners by the early 18th century, and carousels (as they came to be known) were being built and operated at various fairs and gatherings in Central Europe. Animal figures and mechanisms would be crafted during the winter months and the family and workers who made them would go touring in wagon trains, operating their carousels at various venues. These early carousels had no platforms; the animals would hang from chains and fly out from the centrifugal force of the spinning mechanism. They were often powered by animals walking in a circle or people pulling a rope or cranking.
The usage of carousels eventually spread to other parts of the world. Primitive carousels in North America were present since at least the late 18th century; in 1784, the New York City Common Council passed a law forbidding their use due to being unsafe.<ref name="Hinds1990p40">Template:Harvp.</ref>
19th century
By the mid-19th century, the platform carousel was developed; rideable animal figures and chariots were fixed to a circular floor that would rotate around a central pole. These carousels were called "dobbies" and were operated manually by the operator or by ponies. Carousels in the United Kingdom, where they are also known as "gallopers," usually turn clockwise; while those in North America and mainland Europe typically turn counterclockwise.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
United Kingdom
By 1803, John Joseph Merlin had a carousel in his Mechanical Museum in London, where gentry and nobility liked to gather on winter evenings. The horses "floated free over a pole." It was connected to a "big musical instrument that played a fully orchestrated concerto" and from the first note, the carousel would start turning while each horse would make a galloping movement with a visitor riding on its back. Merlin did not patent his inventions and engineers were allowed to come to create their own models of his creations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the mid-19th century, the carousel became a popular fixture at English fairs. The first steam-powered mechanical roundabout, invented by Thomas Bradshaw, appeared at the Pot Market fair in Bolton in about 1861. It was described by a Halifax Courier journalist as "a roundabout of huge proportions, driven by a steam engine which whirled around with such impetuosity, that the wonder is the daring riders are not shot off like cannonball, and driven half into the middle of next month."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Soon afterwards, English engineer Frederick Savage began to branch out of agricultural machinery production into the construction of fairground machines, swiftly becoming the chief innovator in the field. Savage's fairground machinery was exported all over the world.<ref name="Savage">"Frederick Savage, Victorian fairground manufacturer of King's Lynn". Norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2018</ref> By 1870, he was manufacturing amusement rides similar to carousels with velocipedes (an early type of bicycle), and he soon began experimenting with other possibilities, including a roundabout with boats that would pitch and roll on cranks with a circular motion, a ride he called 'Sea-on-Land'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1880, Savage applied a similar innovation to the more traditional mount of the carousel horse; he installed gears and offset cranks on the platform carousels, thus giving the animals their well-known up-and-down motion as they traveled around the central pole – the galloping horse.<ref name="Savage"/><ref name="Hinds1990p31">Template:Harvp.</ref><ref name="Hinds1990p40">Template:Harvp.</ref> The platform served as a position guide for the bottom of the pole and as a place for people to walk or other stationary animals or chariots to be placed. He called this ride the 'Platform Gallopers'. He also developed the 'platform-slide' which allowed the mounts to swing out concentrically as the carousel built up speed. Fairground organs (band organs) were often present (if not built-in) when these machines operated. Eventually, electric motors and lights were installed, giving the carousel its classic look. These mechanical innovations came at a crucial time when increased prosperity meant that more people had time for leisure and had spare money to spend on entertainment. It was in this historical context that the modern fairground ride was born, with Savage supplying this new market demand. In his 1902 Catalogue for Roundabouts, he claimed to have "... patented and placed upon the market all the principal novelties that have delighted the many thousands of pleasure seekers at home and abroad."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
United States
The first known individual carousel with surviving historical records in the US was opened in the 1840s by Franz Wiesenoffer in Hessville, Ohio.<ref name="RoodepoortRecord">Template:Cite web</ref> On July 25, 1871, William Schneider of Davenport, Iowa, was issued the first American patent for a carousel.<ref name="SmithsonianMagazine">Template:Cite web</ref> To commemorate this milestone, July 25 was declared National Merry-Go-Round Day (a.k.a: National Carousel Day) in 2014 by the National Carousel Association (NCA), an organization focused on preserving historic carousels primarily in the United States and Canada.<ref name="RoodepoortRecord"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="TimesHerald">Template:Cite web</ref>
The American carousel industry was developed by European immigrants, notably Danish immigrant Charles I. D. Looff, German immigrant Gustav Dentzel, and Scottish immigrant Allan Herschell. During the late 19th century, several carousel construction centers formed in the United States, each with their own style:
- Coney Island style – characterized by elaborate and sometimes faux-jeweled saddles,<ref name="Antiques Roadshow 2007">Antiques Roadshow, Spokane, Washington, broadcast 4 August 2007.</ref> as well as mirrors to catch and reflect lights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This style was pioneered by Looff in Brooklyn, New York City.
- Philadelphia style – known for more realistically painted saddles, this style was pioneered by Dentzel and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Country Fair style – often with no saddles at all, this style was pioneered by Allan Herschell and Edward Spillman of North Tonawanda, New York (near Buffalo), and Charles W. Parker of Kansas.
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1909 carousel horse by Marcus Illions, a Looff protégé, in the Coney Island style
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1900 carousel horse by Salvatore Cernigliaro for Dentzel in the Philadelphia style
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Carousel horse by the Allan Herschell Company in the Country Fair style
20th century
During the Great Depression, the production of wooden carousel figures was phased out and were replaced by more durable, mass-produced aluminum castings.<ref name="NRHP–100001399">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp These were in turn discontinued in favor of cheaper and lighter fiberglass castings later in the 20th century.<ref name="LosAngelesTimes">Template:Cite web</ref>
Carousels today
Thousands of hand-painted, wood-carved carousels (possibly as many as 10,000) were built during their golden age from the 1870s to the early 1930s; less than 200 complete units exist today.<ref name="SmithsonianMagazine"/><ref name="TimesHerald"/><ref name="LosAngelesTimes"/><ref name="NRHP–00000363">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp Mechanical band organs that provided music, and brass ring dispensers that encouraged riders to sit on the outermost (often stationary) row, were common features for carousels during their golden age, but are now very rare.<ref name="SeattleTimes">Template:Cite web</ref> Carousels are manufactured and operated throughout the world today and are often used as symbols for all amusement rides, and the amusement industry as a whole, exemplified by the carousel horse logo used by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) until 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several notable extant carousels are recipients of the NCA's Historic Carousel Award.<ref name=NCA-list>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable extant carousels built before 1870
| Name | Location | Country | Image | Builder | Year | Working band organ | Brass ring dispenser | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanau Carousel | Hanau-Wilhelmsbad State Park, Hanau, Hesse | Template:Flag icon Germany | File:Karussell Wilhelmsbad.jpg | Template:Dts | Yes | No | The oldest standing and operational carousel in the world. It was built in 1780 in Hanau and has four chariots and twelve stationary horses. The horses and coaches date from 1896. In 1970, twelve of the 16 wooden horses were stolen. It was fully restored in 2016. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Vermolen Boden-Karussel | Efteling, Kaatsheuvel, North Brabant | Template:Flag icon Netherlands | File:Draaimolen Efteling.jpg | Template:Dts | Yes | No | The oldest operational carousel in the world prior to the 2016 restoration of the Hanau Carousel in Germany (see above). The 'Vermolen Boden Carousel' in Efteling dates back to 1865. It was originally turned by horses. At present it is turned by an electric motor. Not to be confused with the Stoomcarrousel (built Template:Circa), also located in Efteling. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Notable extant carousels built 1870–1939
| Name | Location | Country | Image | Builder | Year | Working band organ | Brass ring dispenser | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flying Horses Carousel | Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Reaching for the Brass Ring.jpg | Charles Dare | Template:Dts | Yes | Yes | Oldest platform carousel in the United States. Designated by a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior. One of only two Dare carousels still in existence. Originally operated at an amusement park in Coney Island, New York, it was moved to Oak Bluffs in 1884. The carousel was acquired by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust in 1986 to prevent it from being dismantled and sold piecemeal to collectors of antique carved horses. | <ref name="NewYorkTimes">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Flying Horse Carousel | Westerly, Rhode Island | Template:Flag icon United States | File:RI retouch.JPG | Charles W. F. Dare Company | Template:Circa | No | Yes | Built in 1876 and listed as a National Historic Landmark. It is one of two Charles Dare carousels in existence. It is considered the oldest of its type "in which the horses are suspended from a center frame," as opposed to being mounted on a wooden platform, which causes the horses to "fly" as the carousel gains speed. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Melbourne Zoo Carousel | Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Melbourne, Victoria | Template:Flag icon Australia | File:Carousel at Royal Melbourne Zoological Park.jpg | Robert Tidman & Sons | Template:Dts | Built in 1878 in England and imported to Australia in the 1880s by John Briggs. The carousel traveled the show circuit until 1963, when it finally arrived at Melbourne Zoo. Restoration completed 2005. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Darling Harbour Carousel | Tumbalong Park, Sydney, New South Wales | Template:Flag icon Australia | File:Darling Harbour (2177745416).jpg | G. & J. Lines & Company | Template:Circa | Yes | No | A New South Wales Heritage listed attraction. It is an example of an old Edwardian Carousel which are very rare nowadays. It is operated by a classic steam engine which has been retained. The Carousel dates back to the 'Golden Age' of Carousels between the 1890s to the 1920s. First imported to Australia in 1894. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Le Galopant | La Ronde, Montreal | Template:Flag icon Canada | File:La Ronde - Le Galopant.jpg | Belgian craftsmen | Template:Dts | No | No | The oldest galloping carousel in the world. Built in 1885 in Bressoux by Belgian craftsmen, it stayed there until 1964, when it moved to New York for their World's Fair. For Expo 67 it came to Montreal as part of the rides featured in La Ronde. In 2003, the Carousel underwent a meticulous restoration under the current park ownership, Six Flags. More than $1 million was spent to refurbish the ride, which reopened in a new specially landscaped garden in 2007. The carousel remains intact but has been out of operation since 2019. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Letná Carousel | Letná Park, Prague | Template:Flag icon Czechia | File:Letensky kolotoc zvenku 2024.jpg | Josef Nebeský | 1892 | Yes | No | One of the oldest preserved carousels in Europe. Has been renovated recently (2022). The carousel is still located in the original wooden pavilion and the interior is furnished in its almost original form from 1892. It features 21 horses covered with real horse skin and four cars. | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Geelong Carousel | Geelong Waterfront, Victoria | Template:Flag icon Australia | File:Geelong Carousel - MC 05.jpg | Armitage–Herschell | Template:Dts | Yes | No | Built in New York in Template:Circa. It saw a period of service in New York before being shipped to Australia in the 1920s. It was operated as an amusement ride in the seaside town of Mordialloc, Victoria from c. 1920 to c. 1950. The carousel was eventually dismantled and stored in a field at Echuca, Victoria. It was then sold at auction and stored at Castlemaine. With assistance from the State Government of Victoria, the City of Greater Geelong purchased the carousel and funded its restoration, as part of the redevelopment of the Geelong Waterfront. The restored carousel was officially opened in its new pavilion on 14 October 2000. | <ref name="carouselhist">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Karuselli | Linnanmäki, Helsinki, Uusimaa | Template:Flag icon Finland | File:Karuselli Linnanmäki Helsinki.JPG | Friedrich Heyn | Template:Dts | Yes | No | Oldest amusement ride in Linnanmäki | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Forest Park Carousel | Queens, New York, New York | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Forest Park Carousel July 2016.jpg | D.C. Muller & Brother Company | Template:Dts | Yes | No | One of only two surviving Muller brothers carousels, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. | <ref name="nrhpinv_ny">Template:Cite web See also: Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nris">Template:NRISref</ref> |
| Lakeside Park Carousel | Lakeside Park, Port Dalhousie, Ontario | Template:Flag icon Canada | Lakeside Park Carousel in 2019 | Kremer's Carousel Works | Template:Dts | Yes | No | Brought to St. Catharines in 1921. It continues to provide amusement for young and old alike, at just 5 cents a ride. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Carousel El Dorado | In storage (2020–present) Toshimaen, Tokyo (1971–2020) Steeplechase Park, New York (1911–1964) |
Template:Flag icon Japan | File:El Dorado 1.jpg | Template:Illm | Template:Dts | No | No | Mechanical Engineering Heritage (Japan) No. 38 | <ref>機械遺産カルーセルエルドラド Template:In lang Toshimaen</ref> |
| Eden Palladium | Europa-Park Confertainment Center, Rust, Baden-Württemberg | Template:Flag icon Germany | File:Eden Palladium entrance.jpg | Gustave Bayol | Template:Dts | Yes | No | One of only four salon carousels that still exist | <ref name="Europa-ParkBlog">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Santa Cruz Looff Carousel | Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Santa Cruz Looff Carousel 2.jpg | Charles I. D. Looff | Template:Dts | Yes | Yes | One of the few carousels still in its original location for more than 100 years. It is a "pure carousel" meaning all of the horses were provided by the same company that built the carousel. It is also one of the few with the rare combination of a working ring dispenser and outside row jumping horses. The carousel features three band organs including a rare Ruth & Sohn 96-key organ with 342 pipes. The Looff carousel was designated a national historic landmark in 1987. | <ref>Template:Citation</ref> |
| C. W. Parker Carousel No. 119 | Burnaby Village Museum, Burnaby, British Columbia | Template:Flag icon Canada | File:Galloping (7869027630).jpg | C. W. Parker | Template:Dts | Yes | No | Originally equipped with a steam engine. Sold to Burnaby Village Museum in 1989. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Merry-Go-Round Steam Gallopers | Hollycombe Steam Collection, Liphook, England | Template:Flag icon United Kingdom | File:Tidman, Norwich 3-abreast steam gallopers (c1912) Hollycombe, Liphook 3.8.2004 P8030032 (10353792564).jpg | Robert Tidman & Sons | Template:Dts | Yes | No | A working steam driven Merry-Go-Round with 3-abreast Steam Gallopers. It has 24 horses, six cockerels and two chariots (for those who don't relish the galloping motion). It is driven by a steam center engine, also Tidman, and has revolving pillars, which are believed to be the only ones still operating. Musical accompaniment is driven by a slotted card Tidman band organ. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Nunley's Carousel | Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City, New York | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Nunleys carousel 04.jpg | Stein & Goldstein Artistic Carousell Manufacturing Company | Template:Dts | Yes | Yes | Operated at Nunley's Amusement Park in Baldwin, New York, until its closure in 1995. Subsequently purchased by Nassau County and placed in storage. Fully restored and opened in its current location in 2009. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Cafesjian's Carousel | Como Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Como Regional Park 34.jpg | Philadelphia Toboggan Company | Template:Dts | Yes | No | A mainstay at the Minnesota State Fair from 1914 to 1988, when it was saved from the auction block by a non-profit group organized to save the landmark. The carousel is now located in Como Park in Saint Paul, Minnesota. | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Weona Park Carousel | Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Weona Park Carousel Animals 06.JPG | Dentzel Carousel Company | Template:Dts | No | Yes | One of only two remaining stationary Dentzel menagerie carousels with original factory paint on the carousel figures | <ref name="NRHP–99000879">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Cedar Downs Racing Derby | Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Cedar Downs Horses.jpg | Prior & Church | Template:Dts | No | No | One of only two operational racing carousels in the United States | <ref name="NRHP–90000626">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Over-the-Jumps Carousel | Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, Arkansas | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Herschell-Spillman Carousel.jpg | Spillman Engineering Company | Template:Dts | No | No | Only carousel in the world that rides in a waving motion, only remaining wooden track carousel built by the Herschell–Spillman Company, and one of only four track carousels still in existence | <ref name="NRHP–89002065">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| George W. Johnson Park Carousel | George W. Johnson Park, Endicott, New York | Template:Flag icon United States | File:Endicott, NY - Brome County - George W. Johnson Park Carousel - Historical.jpg | Allan Herschell Company | Template:Dts | No | No | This carousel is one of six in the Greater Binghamton area donated by George F. Johnson, owner of the Endicott-Johnson Company early in the 20th century. These carousels, all manufactured by the Allan Herschell Company in the "country fair" style, were donated with the express stipulation that they would never charge admission for anyone to ride them. | <ref name="NRHP–91001964">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
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Notable extant carousels built 1940–present
| Name | Location | Country | Image | Builder | Year | Working band organ | Brass ring dispenser | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carousel Columbia | California's Great America, Santa Clara, California | Template:Flag icon United States | File:California's Great America 2.JPG | Chance Manufacturing | Template:Dts | No | No | Double-decker carousel. Tallest carousel in the world at Template:Convert. The nearly identical Columbia Carousel in Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, is Template:Convert shorter. | <ref name="RollerCoaster!Magazine">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="GreatAmericanThrills">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="CGA-CC">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Richland Carrousel Park | Mansfield, Ohio | Template:Flag icon United States | File:The Richland Carrousel Park II.jpg | Carousel Works | Template:Dts | Yes | No | First new hand-carved wooden carousel built and operating in the United States since the 1930s | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Pferdekarussell | Phantasialand, Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia | Template:Flag icon Germany | File:Phantasialand Brühl14.jpg | Preston & Barbieri | Template:Dts | No | No | Largest double-decker carousel in Europe | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Le Manège d'Andrea | Nantes, Pays de la Loire | Template:Flag icon France | File:Manège d'Andréa cheval.JPG | La Machine | Template:Dts | No | No | Riders can control some of the movements of the carousel figures. | <ref name="AtlasObscura">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Pride of Canada Carousel | Markham, Ontario | Template:Flag icon Canada | File:Downtown markham.jpg | Brass Ring Carousel Company/Patrick Amiot | Template:Dts | No | No | Made entirely from scrap metal | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
In popular culture
- The protagonist in the 1945 Broadway musical Carousel is a carousel barker.
- In the climactic scene of Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film Strangers on a Train, the protagonist and antagonist struggle on a carousel.
- In the 1963 film Charade, there is a scene near its ending in which a carousel appears in the background with the main theme's music.
- In the 1964 Mary Poppins, Mary, Bert, and the two Banks children ride a carousel, whose carousel horses float off the platform and lead the riding characters to a fox hunt and horse race that Mary wins.
- The children's television program The Magic Roundabout, which aired from 1965 to 1977, uses a carousel as its central motif.
- The 1973 film The Sting features a large indoor carousel adjacent a brothel; the brothel's madam allows the prostitutes to ride it on slow nights.
- The House on the Rock carousel near Spring Green, Wisconsin, a rotating, display-only art piece built in 1981, has 269 carousel figures and is billed as the largest indoor carousel in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- David Carradine's 1983 film Americana revolves around a Vietnam War veteran's obsession with the restoration of an abandoned carousel.
- In the 1983 film Something Wicked This Way Comes, a carousel makes its riders younger by one year each time it completes a backwards revolution.<ref name="Hinds1990p11">Template:Harvp.</ref>
- The children's television program Playdays had a carousel maintained by Mr. Jolly named Rosie, who was the focus of episodes broadcast from 1992 to 1997.
- In the 2011 Australian children's picture book The Carousel by Ursula Dubosarsky, after a carousel ride, a child has a semi-mystical vision of the carousel horses breaking free from the wheel and galloping across the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- In 2014, American singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez released the song "Carousel," using the word carousel as a metaphor for love that goes in circles endlessly.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
- The three installments of the book series Kingdom Keepers: The Return by Ridley Pearson, published between 2015 and 2017, feature the carousel from Disneyland used as a time machine to arrive at the opening of Disneyland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The second song on Travis Scott's 2018 album Astroworld is named "Carousel."
- A scene from the HBO series Euphoria, featuring one of the main characters, Cassie Howard riding a carousel, gained massive popularity, being regarded as one of the most iconic scenes.