The merry-go-round (nowadays probably better known as a spinning metal death trap) was one of the best pieces of playground equipment ever.
My favorite thing to do? Sit on the bars facing forward with my legs hooked around the sides so you could lean back once it got spinning and fling your arms out and feel the breeze in your hair. Of course you had to be careful that no one was standing next to it otherwise you’d hit them…and you had to have some body strength to keep your body vertical enough so that you didn’t flip down and bang your head on the bottom…
If you were fast enough when recess started you would get there first and not have to get off for the whole 20 minutes. If you had a best friend you could work together and take turns.
Whenever we are driving around and see a playground I look for a merry-go-round like this, but of course everything these days is plastic. You do find merry-go-rounds now and again, but nothing like this and it makes me sad. But elementary school, man, those were the times.