Centuries ago, from 2007 to 2016, the hot attraction was the escape room, a sort of real-life game of Myst where you solved puzzles to get out of a dungeon or library or steampunk laboratory. But it’s 2017, and it isn’t time for cerebral games. It’s time for unchecked rage. It’s time for the anger room.
At an anger room, you pay to smash electronics, furnitures, mannequins, and the room itself. While these rooms have been around since at least 2008, they’re doing brisk business lately, says Penelope Green of the New York Times, who visited Manhattan’s Wrecking Club to wale on a TV and some dishes with a baseball bat.
Sessions at various anger rooms start at $20-$70, and can last anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes. There are menus full of add-ons, such as mannequins dressed up as Clinton or Trump. The Anger Room in Dallas, which the Times profiled last fall, can even build a copy of your office so you can tear it down.
Physically releasing your anger might not reduce stress and, if it involves heavy exertion, could increase the risk of a heart attack. But given the current precarious state of the world, maybe stoking your rage is exactly what you need.
Anger Rooms Are All the Rage. Timidly, We Gave One a Whack. | New York Times