Pogo stick facts for kids
A pogo stick is a super fun device that lets you jump high off the ground! It's like a special stick with a spring at the bottom and footrests for your feet. You stand on it and bounce up and down, using the spring to push you into the air. People use pogo sticks for playing games, getting exercise, or even doing amazing tricks!
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How Pogo Sticks Work
A pogo stick uses a special part called a spring. Think of a spring like a coiled piece of metal. When you push down on the pogo stick, the spring gets squished, or compressed. This action stores energy, just like pulling back a slingshot.
When you lift your feet, the spring quickly expands back to its original shape. This rapid expansion releases all the stored energy. This push from the spring launches you into the air! It's all about using stored energy to make you bounce higher and higher.
A Brief History of Pogo Sticks
Bouncing devices have been around for a while! Some early ideas for jumping sticks appeared in the late 1800s. However, the pogo stick we know today was first created in Germany.
In 1900, a man named Max Pohlig and another named Ernst Gottschall worked on a similar bouncing device. The name "pogo" might even come from the first two letters of their last names: PO-hlig and GO-tschall. The first pogo sticks were made of wood. They quickly became popular toys and a new way to have fun outdoors.
Modern Pogo Sticks and Xpogo
Today's pogo sticks are much more advanced than the old wooden ones. Modern pogo sticks often use strong metal springs or even air-powered systems. These new designs allow people to jump incredibly high, sometimes over 10 feet in the air!
This led to a new sport called Xpogo. Xpogo is an extreme sport where athletes perform amazing tricks on high-performance pogo sticks. They do flips, spins, and grabs, often jumping over obstacles or even off buildings. Xpogo athletes compete in events around the world, showing off their incredible skills and daring moves. It's a thrilling sport that takes a lot of practice and courage!
Images for kids
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Today's new high performance pogo sticks – and the sport of "Xpogo"
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No-Handed Backflips on extreme pogo sticks in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Animation of how a pogo stick moves.
See also
In Spanish: Pogo saltarín para niños
