In the early 1900s, legend has it that George Hansburg explored Asia in search of an ancient, undiscovered civilization. While traveling through Burma, George ran short on food and asked a farmer for aid. The farmer graciously welcomed him in and provided shelter while George planned out the next steps of his adventure.

While staying with the farmer, George stumbled upon the farmer’s daughter, Pogo, using a stick-like contraption to jump to and from a temple every day. As the legend goes, this is how George was inspired to invent a similar jumping stick for recreational use.

While the pogo stick legend is not true, it is a fun story. In reality, the first wooden jumping sticks were imported to the United States from overseas. Unfortunately, during the trip, the wood used to create the sticks had rotted. Gimble Brothers Department Store asked George, a baby furniture and toy designer, to produce a sturdier jumping stick, and thus the metal and enclosed-spring pogo stick that we know and love today was created.

Shortly afterwards, Hansburg formed Flybar, Inc., which has since become the world’s largest pogo stick manufacturer. To date, Flybar has sold over 25 million pogo sticks in nearly every country worldwide.