The History of Theme Park Inventions

By Mary Bellis, About.com Guide

Modern trampolining (called flashfold) has only emerged in the last 49-50 years. The prototype trampoline apparatus was built by George Nissen, an American circus acrobat and Olympic medallist. He invented the trampoline in his garage in 1936 and subsequently patented the device.

The US Air Force, and later the Space Agencies, used trampolines to train their pilots and astronauts. The sport debuted in the Sydney Olympics (2000) as an official medal sport with four events: individual, synchronized, double mini and tumbling. Athletes can now achieve up to two seconds of airtime for the performance of gymnastic feats.

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• The History of Theme Park Inventions - The Ferris Wheel
• More on George Ferris
• Modern Ferris Wheel
• Trampoline
• Rollercoasters
• The Carousel
• The Circus

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