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UK city installs 300-foot-long waterslide on busy street to kick off summer

There’s fun, and then there’s '300-foot-long waterslide in the middle of Bristol, England' fun.

Even though summer seems to be taking its sweet time getting here, the city of Bristol didn’t care.

Traffic was closed off in the city on Sunday so that people could ride the 300-foot-long waterslide that was installed in the middle of busy Park Street.

Dubbed the “Park and Slide”, the extravagant waterslide was built as a one-day attraction by artist Luke Jerram. He told BBC that he was inspired to created the giant waterslide by old photos of children playing in the city streets.

“If you look at photographs in the 1900s you see these beautiful empty streets with all the kids playing out,” Jerram told the BBC. “It’s an extraordinary thing and all that has been taken away.”

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Who wouldn’t want to feel like a kid again, sliding down this 300-foot, man-made waterslide? Especially when it’s free!

Clearly, more than 96,000 people did. The event did not cost a dime, even after organizers rejected offers of a corporate sponsorship. The “Park and Slide” received backing from an online funding drive.

Hopeful waterslide riders entered a lottery for the chance to be one of the lucky sliders but only 360 lucky winners got the chance.

Hundreds lined each side of the course on Park Street to see the waterslide riders hit the downhill track.

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In order to create optimal slipperiness for the sliders, a mixture of soap and water was used on the giant slide. This gave riders more speed as they rode down on an inflatable raft.

Apparently, the “Park and Slide” is part of a series of summer events. So even though the slide was only around for one day, other fun events like this one will take place on the first Sunday of every month this summer. What better way to get people into the summer spirit?

Maybe next month they will dump truckloads of sand in the Town Square and host a giant beach volleyball tournament!

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