Insanity, the ride sitting at the 900 foot level of the 1,149 foot-tall Stratosphere Hotel and Casino, is named so for a reason. Everyday, people get on the ride, which hangs 64 feet over the edge of the tower, and wonder to themselves, “I must be insane for doing this.” Like the other Stratosphere rides, Insanity combines an incredible thrill ride with the psychological terror of being extremely high up in the air, and in Insanity’s case, hanging way too much over the edge for comfort.

Insanity operates via a huge mechanical arm that extends into four smaller vertical arms, each with the capacity of carrying 2 passengers. As the ride starts, the larger arm moves from the loading platform out 64 feet past the tower’s edge. Then, each of the four smaller arms begins to spin its passengers into the open air at speeds of up to three ‘G’s. As the force of the spin increases up to 40 mph, each arm tilts into a 70 degree angle that faces each passenger nearly straight down, providing them a terrifying but incredible view of historic downtown Las Vegas sitting a mere 900 feet below. After roughly 20 spins, the ride ends and retracts back to the tower, where riders laugh and return to sanity as they disembark.

Since the ride is programmable, with more than 100 different versions of it ranging from family fun to extreme, riders will never experience Insanity the same way twice. Those who easily get dizzy or queasy may want to skip this ride, as may those who are afraid of heights – although riding Insanity would be one incredible way to conquer that fear.

There’s no doubt that Insanity is a fast, intense, and crazy ride. It’s also crazy fun though, and after riding it for the first time, there’s a good chance you’ll feel crazy enough to ride it again – just maybe not immediately afterwards.