About
The process is simple. Glue, tape, velcro or stick some chess pieces to a board somehow, sneak it on a roller coaster and get the coaster picture at the end of the ride. The hilarity of the pictures draws from the absurdity of the situation: A focused thinker holding his or her chin, contemplating their next move amidst the screaming riders.
Origin
On April 16th, 2007, xkcd cartonist Randall Munroe posted his tri-weekly web comic for all to enjoy:
Many fans of the web comic took notice of the extreme awesomeness and began taking their own roller coaster chess photos. On July 18th, 2007, xkcd posted this picture sent in of Andrew Burke, Chris Ranker, Ryan Dowlingsoka, and Chance Brown.
There after, many people would follow with their own roller coaster chess pictures with many variations. Checkers, Jenga, card houses, Go and other games would replace chess in some pictures, and in others teeth brushing and other wacky antics would replace the games.
The Original Pic
Youtube user heelofkevinZ would later post videos on July 20th, 2007 taken from the same trip to Dollywood which spawned the original picture involving Andrew Burke, Chris Ranker, Ryan Dowlingsoka, and Chance Brown. Some involved chess on other rides, notably the River Raft ride and the Kiddie Car ride. It also featured a post picture video of Burke, Ranker, Dowlingsoka and Brown directly after the Daredevil Falls roller coaster ride.
Spread
A search on several popular websites shows relevant links for roller coaster chess pictures.
- Google Search
- Digg
- Ebaum’s World
- theChive (Only one pic deals with roller coaster chess, but they are hilarious none the less)
Google Insight Analysis
The search for “Roller Coaster Chess” exploded in July of 2007, the month when Munroe posted the first pictures sent into him by readers. Interest seems to stay high during summer months and dip during coaster off season winter months. As May rolls around and Spring resurfaces, so do new pictures.
Showing 1-53 of 53 photos
29 Comments
![Lanthus [Chicken Ace & Taking Names mode activated]](http://cdn0.knowyourmeme.com/system/profile/icon/4724/small/.png.?1268934012 "Lanthus [Chicken Ace & Taking Names mode activated]"){kind=icon}
