The Dodgems are one of the worlds most-beloved funfair rides. You don't just see the dodgems at fairgrounds, carnivals and festivals - some large indoor leisure facilities have Dodgems as permanent fixtures, and their enduring popularity means that there's always a group of people taking them for a spin.

I was in a car with my kid sister, and there were two young kids who had stalled their car in front of us.But when they were first invented in 1920, the whole point of going on the bumper cars was to… well, not bump into other bumper cars – hence the name “Dodgems,” because you had to dodge ’em. Dodgems are much-loved by people of all ages. Put the pedal to the metal and either bump into other players or try to avoid them. There are no winners or losers - just good fun to be had by all. Dodgem Corp ceased manufacturing dodgems 1970, but by this point there were many companies offering both traditional-style and modern dodgems throughout the globe. The Dodgems had established itself as a fixture at family-friendly occasions, and found its way to amusement arcades, cinemas, indoor leisure centres and many other locations. I love Dodgems – a lot. However, I only just learnt why they’re called Dodgems. It’s really interesting, actually. You ready to find out? Dodgems weren’t originally supposed to crash into each other.

Dodgem is a simple abstract strategy game invented by Colin Vout in 1972 while he was a mathematics student at the University of Cambridge as described in the book Winning Ways. It is played on an n× n board with n-1 cars for each player—two cars each on a 3×3 board is enough for an interesting game, but larger sizes are also possible. Burton, Anthony (2000). Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power. Silverdale Books. pp.105–106. ISBN 1856055337. The Lusse Brothers are also credited with bringing the Dodgems to the UK. Companies including Orton and Spooner, Rytecraft, Robert Lakin and Lang Wheels presented them at funfairs and fairgrounds across the country until they became firm favourites.The Stoehrer brothers were the first dudes to put a patent on bumper cars and they called their company the Dodgem Company.

Berlekamp, Elwyn R.; Conway, John Horton; Guy, Richard K. (2003), "Dodgem", Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays, vol.3 (2nded.), A.K. Peters, pp.749–750, ISBN 978-1-56881-143-7 . It’s understandable that the kids would bump each other once a while, so there was rarely ever a penalty for kids’ collisions. Gardner, Martin (June 1975), "Mathematical Games", Scientific American, Volume 232, Number 6, Scientific American, Inc., pp.107–108 .Amusement Park Spares Ltd are proud to be UK representatives for a number of Dodgem Car manufacturers.With over 25years cooperation we can supply customers with the latest models of Dodgem Cars including Adult, Midi and Mini ranges. The invention of the Dodgems is accredited to Massachusetts brothers Max and Harold Stoehrer in 1919, who also gave this bumper car ride its distinctive name through the company Dodgem Corp. Although the Dodgems were described as "highly unmanageable" by Scientific American, this didn't stop people queueing up to try them out for themselves; people were willing to look past any driving difficulties for the chance to crash into other people!