R-Controlled Syllables
Word Analysis: Syllable Types
Teen Invented the Trampoline
A man and a kangaroo jump on a trampoline
Photo Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images
In 1930, 16-year-old George Nissen was attending a circus performance when he came up with the idea for the trampoline.
In 1930, 16-year-old George Nissen was attending a circus performance when an idea began bouncing around in his head. Watching the aerial performers fall from high up in the tent and land in the safety net below, he wondered if he could make something that would let them bounce back up. That idea led to his invention of the trampoline—and with the help of a kangaroo, it became a global sensation.
Starting that day at the circus, Nissen, a gymnast himself, set out to create a bouncy contraption. First, he stretched canvas across wood beams, and when that failed, he tried again—and again. He spent years tinkering with different materials and even disassembled his bed to try using its frame.
Nissen eventually teamed up with his gymnastics coach while in college. Together, they made the first successful prototype using scrap steel and inner tubes. In 1945, Nissen was granted a patent for his "tumbling device." He later changed the name to "trampoline"—from trampolín, the Spanish word meaning "diving board."
Nissen started touring with his trampoline, and it was a hit everywhere he went. By the 1950s, "jump centers" were popping up at gas stations in the United States. Kids bounced on trampolines while their parents filled up their cars. Then, in 1960, a marketing photo of Nissen and a kangaroo jumping on a trampoline circulated the world—and the viral image made the trampoline a worldwide phenomenon.
The trampoline wasn't just a fun diversion for kids, though. After World War II ended in 1945, military pilots used the trampolines for training. The trampolines allowed them to practice reorienting themselves to their surroundings after tricky in-flight maneuvers. Soon, NASA started using trampolines for training astronauts, too. Nissen and astronaut Scott Carpenter eventually invented "Spaceball," a game played on the trampoline that conditioned astronauts for space travel.
Nissen's trampoline was a game-changer for Earth-bound athletes, as well. Nissen helped create trampolining, a sport that combines acrobatics and bouncing, which became an Olympic event in 2000. In 2008, Nissen himself tested the trampoline at the Olympic games in Beijing—78 years after that fateful day at the circus, when he decided to take a leap.
QUESTION 1
1 / 4
What is this article primarily about?
The training of military pilots and NASA astronauts
The worldwide phenomenon of a jumping kangaroo
The "jump centers" that popped up across the U.S.
The game-changing invention of a teenage gymnast
The game-changing invention of a teenage gymnast
QUESTION 2
2 / 4
Think about the events below. Which of these did George Nissen do last?
George Nissen took a marketing photo with a kangaroo that became a viral image.
George Nissen tested the trampoline at the Olympic games in Beijing.
George Nissen helped create the new Olympic sport of trampolining.
George Nissen was granted a patent for the device he later named the "trampoline."
George Nissen tested the trampoline at the Olympic games in Beijing.
QUESTION 3
3 / 4
Which is the closest synonym for the word diversion?
recreation
assignment
employment
superstition
recreation
QUESTION 4
4 / 4
Based on the article, which of these is true about George Nissen?
Nissen had an idea to become a circus performer and eventually left college to go on tour.
Nissen had an idea to become a pilot for the military and eventually became an astronaut.
Nissen had an idea as a gymnastics coach and teamed up with others to train performers.
Nissen had an idea watching the circus and teamed up with others to make it a global sensation.