Teenager Does Several Backflips Before Landing In Trampoline Springs

Trampolines are a staple of suburban backyards and just about every kid who does not have one is always jealous of their peers who do. It is the siren song of backyard equipment.

The sound of trampoline springs stretching with every bounce is quite a comforting sound…

However, we have never thought about where trampolines come from so we decide to do a bare minimum of research. There are some early trampolining devices. For example, the Inuit had a blanket toss game where people were tossed in the air and caught by a walrus skin blanket. Of course, there is some evidence that this was done in other places around the global as well. Much of the pre-trampoline history appears apocryphal or were objects that could be considered a springboard more than a trampoline. The modern antecedent of trampolines was created by George Nissen and Larry Griswold in 1936. Their trampoline consisted of a taut, stretched piece of canvas with grommets in the sides. They were than attached to an angled iron frame with coiled springs.

But THIS kid probably won’t think that after this crazy FAIL of a jump!

Continuing, the first trampoline was used to train tumblers before becoming popular on its own. Nissen, a diver and gymnast, reportedly said that he came up with the name from the Spanish word trampolin, which means diving board in English, that he heard during a tour in Mexico. Nissen and Griswold started making commercial trampolines in 1942 out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Today, most trampolines are made from steel springs, waterproof canvas or polypropylene material and aluminum frames. Surprisingly, trampoline parks have been around since the 1960s! We did not know that!