In Portland, this soap box derby combines downhill speed with extreme pageantry
Gravity is an inescapable force.
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Gravity → combine → pageantry
It's why Earth has its atmosphere and orbits the sun.
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Earth → have → sun
It can bring us to our knees.
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It → bring → knees
And it makes the race known as the soap box derby possible.
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race → make → derby
This gravity-powered American tradition is usually a speed race for kids.
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tradition → power → kids
But not in Portland, Oregon – home of the Portland Adult Soap Box Derby, which just celebrated its 27th annual run.
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which → celebrate → run
A practice from early car history
The use of aerodynamic, gravity-driven cars has been around for a long time – though it wasn't always known as a soap box derby.
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it → drive → derby
The event was also sometimes called a "pushmobile" race.
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event → call → ?
But the soap box derby became an American institution in the 1930s, when a national race launched in Ohio (which still hosts the Soap Box Derby World Championships).
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which → become → Championships
It also showed up in midcentury TV shows – everything from Dennis the Menace to Bewitched to The Danny Thomas Show.
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It → show → Show
The classic design of the soapbox derby car is sleek and streamlined, to minimize drag.
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design → streamline → drag
And as time went on, it got even more technical – with fiberglass bodies and titanium bushings, for example – to reach truly impressive speeds.
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it → go → speeds
But other derby events emerged with a different focus.
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events → emerge → focus
"How many times do you get to race a dragon down a volcano?"
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you → get → volcano
On Saturday, 42 cars of all shapes and sizes gathered in Mt. Tabor Park for the race.
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cars → gather → race
While a few cars are designed for speed, most focus on maximizing creativity.
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most → design → creativity
This year's cars included a giant sloth head, a Heated Rivalry-themed zamboni called "The Ice Melter," a replica of the Flintstones car, and a car depicting Oregon's famous exploded dead whale.
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cars → include → whale
The derby has a few rules relating to helmets, safety training, and brakes.
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derby → have → helmets
Cars are constructed from wood, metal and plastic, and are sometimes covered in fake fur or hot-glued mirror tiles.
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Cars → construct → fur
John Nurse used hula hoops, spray insulation foam, and the chassis of a 1979 Honda Odyssey ATV to build a dragon based on his 10-year-old's direction.
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Nurse → use → direction
"My kid drew a picture, and then it was up to me to figure out how to build it," Nurse explained.
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Nurse → draw → it
"How many times do you get to race a dragon down a volcano?"
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you → get → volcano
An event for more than just racers
Several thousand Portlanders turned out to watch and cheer.
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Portlanders → turn → racers
They brought folding chairs, set up blankets with friends, and spent hours watching the creativity come hurtling down the hill.
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creativity → bring → hill
Organizers say the crowds have grown every year.
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crowds → say → ?
"It's always so much fun," said Brittany England, a creator of the Rocky Roadster ice cream truck.
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England → say → truck
"There's so many people, the vibes are great, the energy's awesome."
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energy → be → ?
David Paulsen, president of the Portland Adult Soap Box Derby, says that it's basically a party that Portland throws for itself every year.
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Portland → say → itself
Paulsen himself fell in love after attending his very first derby in 1997.
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Paulsen → fall → 1997
He described the event as "booger-welded garbage cars racing down a mountain.
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He → describe → mountain
"
"I saw it, and I knew that they were my kindred spirits," he said.
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he → see → it
The derby operates as a nonprofit, and Paulsen stresses that it's all volunteer run – from clearing the brush before the event, to cleaning up the trash after.
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it → operate → trash
While these cars may be shaped like a giant athletic sock, or a deep-sea anglerfish, they can actually reach some pretty impressive speeds.
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they → shape → speeds
The derby has all contestants sign a waiver before they take the wheel, because there is definitely an element of danger.
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they → have → danger
But as Michael Orczyk, who hurtled down the hill in a Conestoga wagon, pointed out, that's part of what draws people in.
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what → hurtle → people
The Aporia
