Pogo sticks were officially patented in 1920 by two German inventors named Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall, who combined the first two letters of their last names to brand their weird spring-loaded jumping pole.

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Pogo sticks were officially patented in 1920 by two German inventors named Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall, who combined the first two letters of their last names to brand their weird spring-loaded jumping pole. The original concept was allegedly inspired by a legendary, likely mythical traveler who saw a man bouncing through the mud on a stick to avoid ruining his shoes. Regardless of its origin, the device was immediately marketed as a legitimate exercise tool and a novel method of short-distance pedestrian transport. While nobody ever realistically commuted to the office by aggressively bouncing down the sidewalk, the invention did successfully bless generations of neighborhood children with shattered teeth, sprained ankles, and a profound misunderstanding of basic mechanical physics