Living in Boston places residents next to some of the country’s oldest and most famous landmarks.
The many tourist attractions and public places are what drew me to the city when I moved there last year. However, I never expected I would witness a landmark’s creation during my stay. That is, until last week.
The “Cop Slide” is now on Google Maps. It’s also rather close to my apartment.
The slide, which was introduced to the City Hall playground this summer, has exploded in popularity after a video of a Boston Police officer going down it at an alarming speed went viral last week.
The video, which has been shared too many times to count and made into a meme, shows the cop bonk against the slide’s interior before propelling out of it — legs first and face down. His arm hits the slide’s outer rim before the officer ultimately crashes to the ground.
Boston emergency medical services treated the officer for minor injuries. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told NBC Boston “We want all of our public spaces to be beloved and if it looks like we need to make sure that there’s more signage that this is for children or something, we can do that too.”
The city’s serious response only prompted more curiosity and jokes from social media users. One question stuck with those who viewed the video: How did he go down the slide so fast?
https://twitter.com/LiveBoston617/status/1686442418403495969?s=20
Those participating in the conversation online demanded answers and the Huffington Post obliged. The outlet spoke with Rhett Allain, a physicist from Southeastern Louisiana University, who told them, “Normal people, when they go down a slide, they’re fine.”
As a news editor, I love the idea that someone assigned that story.
When I first saw the video, I did think it was strange. I order a George Howell coffee and walk it across the street to a seating area near the slide nearly every weekend, and have seen hundreds of children use it without issue. When the playground first opened, I even considered trying it out myself, but then saw a sign noting that the playground was designed for — and should only be used by — children ages 2 to 12.
While I followed the rules, the officer — and many adults since — have broken them.
In fact, on my way home from a concert last Saturday night, I noticed an abnormally large amount of young intoxicated 20-somethings going up and down the slide and filming it for Tik Tok.
The whole situation is absurd and I still don’t quite understand why he went down the slide so fast, but I’m grateful to live near yet another landmark. Hopefully this doesn’t raise my rent.
Those interested in viewing the video can find it at tinyurl.com/yrf9a7wv.
Rachel Barber is The Item‘s news editor. Her column appears every other week.
