> > Why, I've often wondered, do people hold their hands over their head when riding a roller coaster?
>
> If you don't hold them over your head, you're most likely instinctively using them to brace yourself; roller coaster purists believe bracing yourself lessens the fun. famous tried to get us to do that when we visited New Hampshire's local teeny weeny roller coasters at Canobie Lake Park. I'm undecided about whether it made a difference or not, but the wind felt good, so I kept doing it anyway.

Good morning, Sam. You hit the nail on the head. The few times that I've made the mistake of riding one of those things, my hands were very busy holding on or covering my eyes. They should put barf bags on those things like they do on airplanes.
Howard