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A roller coaster inversion is an element of a roller coaster track that turns riders upside-down and then rights them. The degree to which it must invert riders is nebulous and a point of contention when it comes to elements like overbanked turns, which turn riders such that their heads are below their feet, but are not considered inversions.
The first inversions were circular vertical loops built in the early 1900s that accumulated massive g-forces, breaking necks. In 1975, designers from Arrow Dynamics developed the corkscrew, and the inversion was revived. Since then, elements have evolved from the simple vertical loop to massive cobra rolls. With ten inversions, Colossus of Thorpe Park in Chertsey, England is the record holder for roller coaster with the most inversions.
