Carousels were already known in the early 18th century – although the modern version we know today came around only a hundred years later – as was the figure of travelling fairmen/circus performers. Back then – just like today -, people were looking for fun and entertainment by jumping on stick horses, unaware that the predecessor of the device was imported from the Middle East by the Crusaders and was basically used for training knights for combat. (Vilmos Aba-Novák: Carousel)