If you like horrifying carnival rides and have access to a tractor, boy do I have a Facebook Marketplace listing for you. In Michigan City, Indiana, there’s a gentleman who’s selling what can only be described as a medieval torture device, but he’s marketing it as a hilarious test of digestive system strength. He calls it the “Hurl-A-Whirl,” and it can be yours for just $250.
So what exactly is the Hurl-A-Whirl? Despite looking like something the villain from Se7en would make, It’s actually a pretty simple device. What seller Matt Rademaker has here is essentially just a car seat that’s been bolted to a rear differential’s output shaft, oriented vertically. The open diff’s axles are connected to the wheels of a what looks like a homemade tubular A-frame. So, as a tractor pulls the A-frame, its wheels turn the differential’s output shaft, which spins the car seat. The faster the tractor goes, the faster the seat spins—and it does not look like a very fun ride. Also, whoever’s in the seat is at the mercy of the driver, because if they want to get off but the driver won’t stop, spin time ain’t over.
“I don’t care how tough they are. They ain’t gonna make it,” Rademaker says in the listing’s video. “I don’t care if they don’t eat for two weeks. They will throw up,” he continued, laughing. Maybe he is a movie villain after all.
The only description in the listing is “250.00 cash only no trades.” Maybe it’s a good thing the seller isn’t accepting trades, because I shudder to think what sort of other homemade contraptions might be offered in return.
I’m not sure what the appeal is, here. Buy this thing so you can make your friends puke? I guess that’s funny, in a Jackass sort of way. Maybe you run a carnival and need a new attraction? Regardless of reason, if you want a spinning tractor ride and live in Indiana, you can get one for pretty cheap.
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