The pogo stick's spring does the saving between jumps.

How a pogo stick turns a landing into the next jump

A pogo stick works by storing energy in a spring. When a rider lands on the footrests, their weight pushes the spring inward. The compressed spring then pushes back, sending the rider upward. On the way down, gravity brings the rider back to the ground and loads the spring again.

That cycle is why a pogo stick needs both a spring and a rigid frame. The frame connects the footrests to the handle and keeps the mechanism aligned as the rider repeatedly shifts between landing and rising. The handle gives the rider something to hold for balance; it does not provide the force that creates the bounce.

From patent to familiar name

German inventors Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall patented their design in 1920. Its name came from the first two letters of each inventor’s surname: Pohlig and Gottschall became “Pogo.” The branding captured the device’s unusual, repeated motion in a word that was easy to remember.

The mechanism is simple, but riding it requires timing. A rider must keep the stick upright and coordinate each landing so the spring compresses beneath them rather than tipping to one side. Every hop is therefore a small loop: land, load the spring, and let it rebound. Gravity supplies the repeated return to the ground; the spring turns that return into another chance to rise.