I'm always amused when the question comes up on the definition of
merry-go-round vs. carousel.  The term used has more to do with region
that type of machine or type of animals or figures that ride on it.

It is part of the myth and magic of the carousel industry.  Just as
coke, pop, soda and even "soft" drink all mean the same depending on
what part of the country you are in when the question is asked, so
in the term merry-go-round and carousel. It is more marketing than
anything.  In the South, they were even referred to as "carry-us-alls"
by one manufacturer.

And if you look it up in the dictionary, you have to be sure the
publishing date on the dictionary corresponds to the period of use.
Words go in and out of popularity and are either included or excluded
from the current dictionary.

I have, for instance, a large Webster's dictionary  published in the
l960s that lists "merry-go-rounds" and doesn't included "carousels"
During this same period the tickets sold for the Spokane l909 Looff
Carousel reflected the same, "Natatorium Park Merry-Go-Round".  A mere
ten years later, this same carousel was saved from the auction block
and placed in the downtown core of Spokane.  It then became the Spokane
Carrousel -- with two r's.

As more of these antique mechanisms splendidly outfitted with both
menagerie and horses were saved, the dictionary again added the term,
"carousel" or "carrousel" to their updated versions and consider both
spellings correct as well.

The carousel industry was brought to the United States by immigrants
from the German and Russian region of Europe.  They not only brought
the direction of the carousel, counter-clock-wise, but the confusion
of the spelling as well.  Looff referred to his first carousel created
in l876 as a carrousell and karoussell.  Perhaps he was confused as to
what to call it or how to spell it, and with the double o's and l's in
his own name, he was just trying out a few new spellings for this
marvelous form of amusement.

If Looff and Dentzel had been from England, we would know them today
in the United States as "round-abouts" and they would be going the
opposite direction.

I called a carnival history buff to confirm some terms that the carnival
industry has used for years in reference to carousels or merry-go-rounds.
Some will be very familiar to all of you.

The "Flying Jenny" refers to the swing carousels, such as at Martha's
Vineyard, that hang from chains and may or may not have a deck or
platform.  These are the earliest forms of carousels found in the
United States.  The National Carousel Association owns one of these
primitives which will be featured in the new Parker Museum (under
construction) in Leavenworth, Kansas.  It dates to the l860s.

This term was shortened to "Jenny"  by the carnival people in reference
to all merry-go-rounds.  The other term used was "symp twister", or
simple twister.

Bette Largent
President, National Carousel Association