the.com/tire swing

Childhood's first taste of centrifugal force, disguised as roadside décor.

means A used tire hung from a rope or chain on a tree branch, spun and swung as a simple backyard playground seat.

from A plain compound of 'tire' (the rubber wheel-covering, from 'attire'—the thing that 'tires' or dresses a wheel) and 'swing' (Old English 'swingan', to swing or beat). The object itself is a 20th-century folk invention—no inventor, no patent—born simply from someone noticing a worn-out car tire and a sturdy tree limb could, together, make a child happy.

origin
repurposed waste rubber, 1900s farm ingenuity
physics lesson
teaches angular momentum before kids can spell it
rope wear
friction slowly saws through the branch above
radial flaw
modern radial tires swing worse than old bias-ply
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