As if passing a kidney stone wasn’t intense enough on its own: A New Jersey woman made viewers wince after expelling one of the calcified pellets by riding a rollercoaster at Disney World — and she’s apparently not the only one.
TikToker Steph Fallon had reportedly been suffering from kidney stones — hard deposits made of minerals and salts that form inside one’s renal glands due to diet, weight and other factors.
After researching cures online, the Jersey girl found that many articles mentioned an unusual remedy — riding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
She reportedly rode the railroad twice — a veritable double dose — presumably to increase the chances of jettisoning her painful passenger.
The New Jerseyan returned home at midnight, whereupon she woke up the next morning to find that her Disney World diuretic did the trick.
Viewers were shocked over her veritable Mountain “pass.”
@elle_dubb on TikTok
“Honestly this is such a power move, flying to Disney to pass a kidney stone."
@xoxogilmoregirl on TikTok
“cheaper than going to the hospital and way more fun!”
This was not some freak occurrence. The Big Thunder Mountain ride is apparently the de facto antidote when it comes to getting one’s rocks off … so to speak.
In what might sound like an apocryphal Onion Article, a 2016 Michigan State study found that getting on the ride helped patients pass kidney stones nearly 70% of the time.
Professor David Wartingerexperiment leader
“I had patients telling me that after riding a particular roller coaster at Walt Disney World, they were able to pass their kidney stone.”
To put this theory to the test, the professor filled 3-D models of kidneys with replica kidney stones and then rode the Thunder Mountain railroad over 20 times.
He found that he indeed expelled kidney stones in seven out of 10 attempts provided he sat in the last car.
Interestingly, Wartinger and co tried the same experiment on Space Mountain and other high-velocity rollercoasters but said that “Big Thunder Mountain was the only one that worked.”
He suspected that this was because the extreme G-force pins the stone in the kidney — much like a rollercoaster passenger trapped against their seat — and therefore prevents it from passing.
Professor David Wartingerexperiment leader
“The ideal coaster is rough and quick with some twists and turns, but no upside down or inverted movements."
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