Is a Slip 'N Slide Appropriate for Adults?

The heat is unbearable, melting ice cubes in your lemonade before you can even take a sip. The air conditioner struggles to cope, and your kids are sprawled out, complaining in a tone that tests your patience.

Since you're already drenched in sweat this summer, why not embrace it fully? Transform your front yard into a splash zone with some water-filled fun.

The Slip 'N Slide, a simple yet iconic summer invention, offers a fun way for your kids (and even you) to beat the heat. It’s quick to set up and will likely draw in neighborhood kids from blocks away.

What’s truly fascinating about the Slip 'N Slide is how it showcases the power of advertising. A brightly colored box containing a vibrant plastic toy, combined with clever marketing and a dash of nostalgia, convinces you to spend $10 on something that might not be worth the cost.

At its core, a Slip 'N Slide consists of a long, narrow plastic sheet (typically 40 inches wide and 25 feet long or 1 meter wide and 7.6 meters long) with a garden hose attachment on one side [source: Walsh]. Small holes in the tube release water to create a slick surface, while a shallow pool forms at the end. Some versions include additional features like side fountains or inflatable boards.

Users line up at one end of the plastic sheet, take a running start, dive onto the wet surface, and slide until they reach the shallow pool at the other end. It’s most effective on a slight downhill slope, free of debris like rocks or sticks.

The clear winners in this backyard adventure are your kids, their friends, and your sanity, which can no longer tolerate complaints of boredom. However, there’s a catch: Slip 'N Slides aren’t designed for adults.

A Slippery Slope

On a typical summer day, Robert Carrier, a boat interior upholsterer from California, returned home after work.

What he saw was far from ordinary. His son was sliding down the driveway on his belly, heading toward the street. The boy had turned the painted concrete into a makeshift water slide using a garden hose.

Carrier quickly found a safer alternative: a 50-foot (15.24-meter) roll of vinyl-coated fabric, allowing his son to slide on the grass rather than the driveway.

Carrier patented his creation and sold it to Wham-O, the company behind the Hula Hoop and Frisbee. Wham-O launched the Slip 'N Slide at the 1961 Toy Fair as a kids' toy [source: Walsh]. Despite warnings from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and reports of severe injuries, millions have been sold. Between 1973 and 1991, seven adults and a 13-year-old experienced neck injuries or paralysis after using a Wham-O Slip 'N Slide [source: CPSC].

Wham-O halted production of the water slide in the late 1970s following initial injury reports. In 1982, Kransco, a toy company, purchased Wham-O and relaunched the product in 1983, adding a warning label that it was unsuitable for adults [source: Weiser].

A 1991 lawsuit involving a man who became quadriplegic after using a Slip 'N Slide prompted the commission to issue a warning in 1993: "Adults and teenagers, due to their weight and height, risk severe spinal cord injuries, including quadriplegia or paraplegia, when diving onto the slide. The force of the impact compresses the neck and spinal cord."

Following the lawsuit, the Slip 'N Slide was temporarily removed from the market but returned in the 2000s as a beloved backyard toy for kids. It remains available in its classic yellow design, alongside inflatable, sports-themed, and multi-user versions, with a recommended age range of 5 to 12.

For thrill-seeking adults, creating a custom water slide using a longer plastic sheet could be a safer alternative—unless you ramp up the risk by adding obstacles, ramps, or baby oil.