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The Rebel Yell


MickinMD

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Recalling on another thread riding the "Rebel Yell" at King's Dominion Theme Park in Virginia when it was the #1 roller coaster in the country, makes me wonder:

Is that getting renamed?

Is the "Rebel Yell" itself now banned? There are historians who have said no one really knows today what it sounded like. Author and Historian Shelby Foote said it has been described as a "Foxhunt yip."

But there is some rare video footage that preserves former rebel soldiers doing it.  For history's sake, I hope they are preserved if for no other reason than to show a terrorizing sound the union troops had to psychologically overcome.

In Ken Burns' The Civil War on PBS, an old Rebel soldier at the 1938 reunion at Gettysburg looked at the camera, called out, "Woo Woo! Woo Woo!" a couple times and said, "That's the 'Rebel Yell.'  It's at 2:33 in this clip:

This one is probably more like the confusion and group improvisation (but approximately "Woo woo!") that actually occurred in battle that scared the shit out of their opponents:

It starts at 1:23 here:

 

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33 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

Is that getting renamed?

Is the "Rebel Yell" itself now banned?

There's "banned" and then there's polite, civilized folks don't do it/use it.

It's the hurdle the Germans faced after WWII.  What do you do with awful "artifacts" of an awful era?  Germans are a bit more willing to actually "ban" some things - ie Hitler/Nazi salutes that awful folks in the US freely use. 

Go figure!  Wouldn't it make sense for Kings Dominion to choose a better name? Isn't it sort of sad it is even something we need to discuss?

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43 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

Is that getting renamed?

Already done in 2018 as part of an overall park upgrade.

Rebel Yell will become “Racer 75” as a nod to its 1975 entry into the park as well as giving recognition to ACE, the American Coaster Enthusiasts, (rACEr 75 – get it?!). ACE was founded in 1978 after a roller-coaster-riding event on this attraction. The new name, Racer 75, is also reflective of the design, a racer-style coaster.  We will continue to replace sections of the track on this classic wooden coaster as a commitment to maintaining the iconic ride. As part of this work, riders will notice a smoother experience as they race through the course.

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5 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

Already done in 2018 as part of an overall park upgrade.

Rebel Yell will become “Racer 75” as a nod to its 1975 entry into the park as well as giving recognition to ACE, the American Coaster Enthusiasts, (rACEr 75 – get it?!). ACE was founded in 1978 after a roller-coaster-riding event on this attraction. The new name, Racer 75, is also reflective of the design, a racer-style coaster.  We will continue to replace sections of the track on this classic wooden coaster as a commitment to maintaining the iconic ride. As part of this work, riders will notice a smoother experience as they race through the course.

Interesting it was considered a top roller coaster in the US.  I like wooden coasters, but going back 40+ years to the rollout of loops and the newer metal high speed ones, I can't say I remember wooden coasters ever having the lines I remember from the metal ones.  But that may also be a capacity difference.

But, damn, I do love roller coasters.

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A wooden coaster is a totally different experience from the metal monsters

They are both fun, but the wood has a personality, it rides differently depending on weather, the wood swells and shrinks, the fasteners tighten and loosen. Every day is different 

A metal coaster better stay the same, cause if things are changing, it’s probably for the worse, and it needs grease 

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4 hours ago, MickinMD said:

Recalling on another thread riding the "Rebel Yell" at King's Dominion Theme Park in Virginia when it was the #1 roller coaster in the country, makes me wonder:

Is that getting renamed?

Is the "Rebel Yell" itself now banned? There are historians who have said no one really knows today what it sounded like. Author and Historian Shelby Foote said it has been described as a "Foxhunt yip."

But there is some rare video footage that preserves former rebel soldiers doing it.  For history's sake, I hope they are preserved if for no other reason than to show a terrorizing sound the union troops had to psychologically overcome.

In Ken Burns' The Civil War on PBS, an old Rebel soldier at the 1938 reunion at Gettysburg looked at the camera, called out, "Woo Woo! Woo Woo!" a couple times and said, "That's the 'Rebel Yell.'  It's at 2:33 in this clip:

This one is probably more like the confusion and group improvisation (but approximately "Woo woo!") that actually occurred in battle that scared the shit out of their opponents:

It starts at 1:23 here:

 

That really doesn't sound all that chilling.  I am sure the winning side had some sort of northern redneck yell, too.

It would be much scarier if they could sound like hundreds of spiders scurrying around close by.

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4 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

But, damn, I do love roller coasters.

Wooden coasters have a far better feel than metal ones, but it is true you can't do all that crazy loopty stuff that goes beyond wood's structural integrity.

I will take a wooden coaster pretty much any day over the metal, though, I am way more into the float and feel than inversions or loopy corkscrews and such.

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10 hours ago, Randomguy said:

Wooden coasters have a far better feel than metal ones, but it is true you can't do all that crazy loopty stuff that goes beyond wood's structural integrity.

I will take a wooden coaster pretty much any day over the metal, though, I am way more into the float and feel than inversions or loopy corkscrews and such.

In my advanced age :D I no longer like the going-in-reverse coasters as they give me a near concussion!  Wooden coasters are my go-to coasters, while some of the metal ones may get skipped if they go backwards.

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