You see them in backyards everywhere. Join Tidbits as we find out the story behind them!

• George Nissen was a three-time National Tumbling Champion for the years 1935–1937. As a young adult he became fasci-nated watching the acrobats at the circus falling into the nets from the high wire, sometimes doing amazing tricks and twists as they bounced. He also watched vaudeville acts that used springboards in their acts. One actor would pretend to fall into the orchestra pit, only to bounce back up on the stage. And he’d heard that Eskimos stretched walrus skins between stakes in the ground and then bounced up and down on them just for fun. Inspired by a love of gymnastics, Nissen wanted to invent some kind of “jumping table.”

• He started work on his invention in 1926 while still in school, scavenging materials from the local dump, and tinkered with the idea for over ten years. Finally, using the rails from a bed, rope, strips of inner tube, and some canvas, Nissen and a local gymnastics coach named Larry Griswold came up with a prototype. They took it to the YMCA where Nissen worked as an in-structor to test market it. The kids stood in

Published and distributed by Alimon Publishing, LLC - www.tidbitswyoming.com - tidbits@tidbitswyoming.com - 307-473-8661

May 9-15, 2013 Issue #467

TIDBITS® JUMPS ONTRAMPOLINES

by Janet Spencer

Turn the page for more!

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• It was French Enlightenment author au-thor Voltaire who made the follow-ing sage observation: “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”

• If you’re like the average Ameri-can, you laugh 15 times every day.

• Have you ever heard of an artist by the name of John Banvard? You’re to be forgiven if the name is unfamiliar; few people these days remember him. In the mid-19th century, though, he was something of a phenom-enon. In 1840, the then-25-year-old man set off on a skiff down the Mississippi Riv-er. He spent more than a year on the river, sketching steadily along the way. After he completed the voyage, he spent another five years painting his “Panorama of the Missis-

sippi,” an ambitious work that was 12 feet wide and more than 3 miles long. When completed, the paint-ing was mounted on two upright revolving cylinders nd displayed for the paying public through-out the U.S. and Europe, earn-ing him $200,000 along the way.• In the 1960s, the miniskirt was still controversial. Both the Vatican City and Disney-land refused entrance to wom-en wearing the short skirts.If you’re a fan of the TV series “Dr. Who,” you probably know that the title character, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, has two hearts. This may seem like science fiction (and, of course, it is), but it’s not unknown for a human to be born with two hearts. One such exam-ple was Giuseppe de Mai, born in Italy in the 19th century. The condition is rare, though; so rare, in fact, that the London Acad-emy of Medicine offered de Mai $15,000 under the condition that it receive his body after his death.

***Thought for the Day:

“Women are like elephants to me. I like to look at‘em, but I wouldn’t

want to own one.”— W.C. Fields

long lines for a chance to bounce on it. • When Nissen graduated from college

in 1938 he set about improving the in-vention. He called it the “trampoline,” from the Spanish word trampolin which means “diving board.” He began to mass produce them, but couldn’t understand why they weren’t selling. He found that people saw it as something suitable only for the circus or professional performers. So he strapped a trampoline to the top of his car and took off cross-country, giving exhibitions anywhere a crowd was gath-ered: schools, fairs, playgrounds, and sports events, taking orders on the spot.

TRAMPOLINES (continued)

• When World War II started, he convinced the Army and the Navy that a trampoline would be a good part of a pilot training program. Pilots training on a trampoline became less fearful of being upside-down. They learned to control the falling and the turning of their bodies, and it helped them hone their balance and body control in mid-air situations. Soldiers who used tram-polines in the service ordered them when they went home after the war. Business con-tinued to improve. In 1948, trampolining was included in the NCAA and AAU list of gymnastic events at official competitions. In the 1950s it swept the country as a fad.

• Nissen went on to build a very successful sports equipment empire, manufacturing gymnastics equipment and trampolines. George Nissen holds over 30 patents on sports and fitness equipment. At the age of 83, he won the Senior Fitness Award from the California Governor’s Coun-cil on Physical Fitness and Sports. Nissen works to pass on his enthusiasm and love for the sport of gymnastics, which is where the story of the trampoline began: each year the Nissen Award is given to the out-standing collegiate gymnast in the nation.

TRAMPOLINE FACTS• As a promotional stunt, Nissen taught a

kangaroo to jump on a trampoline and then went to Egypt to bounce on top of a pyramid. He trained the kanga-roo using dried apricots as treats and quickly learned that the best way to keep from getting kicked was to hold “hands” with the kangaroo’s front paws.

• When officials at the Arkansas Chil-dren’s Hospital did a study, they found that four percent of the patients seen in their hospital emergency room over a five-year period in the mid-1990s were there with orthopedic in-juries due to accidents on trampolines. About 70% of the accidents were due to more than one child being on the tramp at one time, a definite no-no.

• Jeff Schwartz of Illinois bounced on a trampoline for 266 hours, 9 minutes in

1981, setting a world record. (That’s just over 11 days.) He was allowed breaks for eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom.

• The record for the most consecutive somersaults on a trampoline is 3,333 and was set by Brian Hudson (UK) at Jumpers Rebound Centre, Gilling-ham, Kent, UK on September 18, 2003.

• A world record was set on July 24, 1999 when a team of 20 members of a tram-poline club in West York, UK, did 29,503 somersaults in exactly five hours using two standard trampolines. This averages out at just under 1,500 somersaults per per-son, or about five somersaults per minute.

• In 1986, Cleveland State University’s Delta Epsilon fraternity fielded a six-man team that set the Guinness World Record for continuous bouncing on a trampoline, with 53 days of jump-ing between six people. President Rea-gan called the team to congratulate them.

COMPETITIVE JUMPING

• In 1962, West Germany was the first country to host an international trampolining event.

• On a modern competitive tram-poline, a skilled athlete can bounce to a height of up to 33 feet.

• In competitive trampolining, each con-testant must perform two sets of maneu-vers. In the first set, everyone must com-plete the same ten basic moves which include the three standard shapes: tucked, piked, and straight. The second set is free-

form in which contestants make up their own routines. In all routines, the con-testant must begin and end on their feet.

• During a competition, a trampolinist is in contact with the trampoline bed for just 0.3 seconds between moves. In 2010, a new “Time of Flight” score was introduced into professional trampolining, which is calcu-lated on how much time the trampolin-ist is in the air. To measure it, a box is fit-ted under the trampoline which measures every time the competitor hits the bed.

• There are five judges. When a performance is scored, the highest and lowest scores are tossed out and the remaining scores are add-ed together to come up with the final tally.

• Nissen always wanted to have trampolin-ing included in the Olympic Games. This finally happened in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. In 2008, Nissen was able to travel to Beijing to watch the tram-poline event at the 2008 Summer Olym-pics. He was given the honor of testing out the Olympic trampoline before the event.

• George Nissen died in San Diego, Cali-fornia, on April 7, 2010 at the age of 96 from complications from pneumonia, having seen his dream become a reality.

Graduations…Glendo High School - Saturday, May 18th @ 7PMGuernsey-Sunrise High School – Sunday, May 19th @ 2PMWheatland High School – Sunday, May 19th @ 2PMChugwater High School – Sunday, May 19th @ 7PM Memorial Day Flag Ceremony - Monday, May 27th @ 10 AM

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have vitiligo, and it keeps spreading over my body. My father had it on his legs. I’m an older lady of brown complexion. This vitiligo is so embarrass-ing. I wear slacks every day, except to church. Do you know of any cover-ups for it? —C.ANSWER: Vitiligo is the loss of special skin cells called melanocytes, cells that produce the pigment melanin, which gives skin its color. The loss comes about because of an immune at-tack on those pigment cells. Genes are one of the ingredients that lead to vitiligo. Your fa-ther is an example of the genetic influence.The skin patches devoid of melanocytes and mela-nin become chalky white and are most notice-able on people with dark skin. The patches ap-

pear on the face, in circles around the mouth and eyes, on the neck, trunk, arms and legs. Stronger varieties of cortisone in creams, lotions and gels often can coax melanocytes back into the depigmented skin. Many users have enjoyed success with skin applications of pimecrolimus (Elidel cream) or tacrolimus (Protopic ointment).Ultraviolet light, along with the oral psoralen drugs, is another way of repigmenting vitiliginous skin.Quite a few people with vitiligo find it more con-venient to apply cosmetic agents to cover the white patches and make them blend with ad-jacent skin. Covermark (800-524-1120), Der-mablend (800-662-8011) and Cover Fx (416-665-7444) are three popular products. I’ve included the phone numbers of the manufac-turers in case you cannot find the products in your area. The National Vitiligo Foundation,

Inc., will provide you with informationon the many ways that vitiligo is treat-ed. The website is www.nvfi.org, and the phone number (not tollfree) is 513-541-3903. You’ll find the foundation to be a friend that can help you cope with vitiligo.

***DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Our friend, age 86, has Alzheimer’s disease. She sees a neurolo-

gist every four months. Some days, she is lucid; other days, she’s out in left field. She lives alone and drives a car. She recently got lost, but recov-ered and came home safely. Her children live out

of town. We, her friends, think the time has come for our friend to give up independent living. What criteria are used to make this decision? — C.F.ANSWER: Your friend’s lapses fill the criteria that indicate a need for assisted living. Although 50 percent of people with a degree of dementia make this decision for themselves, that leaves 50 percent who do not. Giving up one’s home and one’s car has unpleasant ramifications for that half who want to continue living independently. Close relatives can convince these people that they need help. A doctor can step in and strongly advise such moves. You and your friends would do this woman a service by contacting her children and telling them exactly what you have told me. The booklet on Alzheimer’s diseases discusses it and its treatments. Reader can obtain a copy by writing:

Dr. Donohue — No. 903W, Box 536475, Or-lando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can-ada with the recipient’s printed name and ad-dress. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

***Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer in-dividual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newslet-ters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

Mutts Capture Owners’ Hearts

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: What is the most popular dog in the United States? And what about mixed breeds? — Jane in Tuscaloosa, Ala.DEAR JANE: Good question! Everyone has their favorite dog or cat, but a number of sur-veys are done every year trying to figure out which breeds are the most popular. According to the American Kennel Club, the most popu-lar dog breed in 2012 was the Labrador Re-triever, which has reigned supreme for a decade.

Rounding out the top five are German Shep-herds, Golden Retrievers, Beagles and Bulldogs, although Yorkshire Terriers of-ten contend for a place on the list, com-ing in no lower than sixth since 2002.A recent survey conducted for pet food com-pany Royal Canin revealed another heartening statistic. More than 40 percent of cat owners and 28 percent of dog owners preferred mixedbreed pets, rather than purebreds. This is encourag-ing to read, because more owners are choosing pets based on factors other than breed alone.

So, how do dog own-ers choose their pet? Ac-cording to the survey, size was the No. 1 factor in their decision of which kind of dog to adopt or purchase.Among cat owners, a cat’s appearance was the top factor in choosing their feline companion, accord-ing to more than 55 per-cent of those surveyed.So, while the even-tempered Labrador Retriever contin-ues to be a popular choice for American families, owners looking to adopt a mutt stand in good com-pany with other pet owners.

Send your questions or com-ments to ask@pawscorner.com. Did you know mosqui-tos can transmit heartworm larvae to dogs, but fleas don’t? Find out more in my new book, “Fighting Fleas,” available now on Amazon.

Page 4 Tidbits of Glenrock, Douglas and Wheatland May 9 - 15, 2013 Page 5 Tidbits of Glenrock, Douglas and Wheatland May 9 - 15, 2013

Go Herbal: For varicose veins, try horse chestnut, an herbal extract that’s been shown in studies to strengthen veins and reduce swelling. The herb is also avail-able in topical creams, though there’s not as much evidence for these.

When Skin Patches Lose All Color

ATTRACTIONSRock In The GlenDeer Creek StationEmigrant CrossingMormon MinesA.H. Unthank GraveBrigham Young Mail StationParker-Ringo GraveADA Magill GraveHayden Pioneer MonumentDeer Creek MuseumPaleontological Museum

May 25th - Lil Pokes Rodeo - South RecMay 25th - Beginning of Summer Party - Rusty’s Knotty PineJune 15th - Art In The Park - Glenrock Town ParkAug 2, 3, 4th - Deer Creek Days - Glenrock Town Park

GLENROCKHAPPENINGS

Page 6 Tidbits of Glenrock, Douglas and Wheatland May 9 - 15, 2013 Page 7 Tidbits of Glenrock, Douglas and Wheatland - For Advertising Call 307-473-8661 May 9 - 15, 2013

• On May 24, 1844, in a demonstration wit-nessed by members of Congress, American inventor Samuel F.B. Morse dispatches a tel-egraph message from the U.S. Capitol to a railroad station in Baltimore. The message — “What Hath God Wrought?” — was tel-egraphed back to the Capitol a moment later.

• On May 22, 1859, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of master sleuth Sherlock Hol-mes, is born in Scotland. His first Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet,” was pub-lished in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887.

• On May 25, 1927, Robert Ludlum, author of 25 thrillers, is born in New York City. Although he never earned a reputation as a masterful prose stylist, his suspenseful stories such as “The Bourne Identity” gripped a wide read-ership. As a critic for The Washington Post noted about one Ludlum novel: “It’s a lousy book. So I stayed up until 3 a.m. to finish it.”

• On May 23, 1934, notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police while driving a stolen car near Sailes, La. All told, the Barrow Gang was believed responsible for the deaths of 13 people, including nine police officers.

• On May 26, 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt

makes a radio appeal for the support of the Red Cross. Belgian and French civil-ians were “running from their homes to escape bombs and shells and machine gunning, without shelter, and almost

wholly without food,” broadcast FDR.• On May 20, 1956, the United States conducts

the first airborne test of an improved hydro-gen bomb, dropping it from a plane over the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Observ-ers said that the fireball caused by the explo-sion measured at least 4 miles in diameter and was brighter than the light from 500 suns.

• On May 21, 1978, 21-year-old rookie golf-er Nancy Lopez defeats her childhood hero, JoAnne Carner, on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the Coca-Cola-Classic in Jamesburg, N.J. The next year Lopez beat out 44-year-old Mickey Wright, to repeat as Coca-Cola champion.

DOUGLAS HAPPENINGSJune 6, 7, 8th -

WY High School State Finals Rodeo

July 21 - 26th - Converse County 4-H Fair

July 26th - Converse County 4-H Livestock Auction 6 pm

August 10 - 17th - WY State Fair

• My mom was dealing with a rough health patch recently, and my dad was in charge of all her doctor visits. There was a lot of follow-up to keep track of, and many different doctors. He used a wallet-size photo holder to corral all the different appointment cards to put them in order of appointment. He really did a great job, and Mom’s all better now. — Y.R. in Ohio

• A fast, cheap and effective treatment for leg cramps is drinking a little bit of pickle juice. I’m not sure if it’s the vin-egar or the combination of vinegar and salt, but it works — and fast! My grand-pa told me about this, and recently I have seen it in magazine articles and on television shows. Nothing fancy, just

take a big slug of the juice at the very first sign of a cramp. — E.E. in Maine

• Here’s a tip for brides: For a couple of weeks before your wedding, wear your wedding shoes around the house several times a week. This breaks them in, and you will be more comfortable with all the standing and dancing on your special day!

• I think cleaning wipes are so very handy, but they can be quite expen-sive. To make my own, I add cleaner to baby wipes, right in the container. I don’t have babies in the house, but do mark the container well so that nobody would use it for his or her skin. They work well for me. — A Reader, via email

• To thread a needle, run the tip of your finger and thumb over a stick of lip balm, then roll the end of the thread between your fingers. It keeps the threads together and will go through the eye of the needle much easier.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475 or e-mail JoAnn at heresatip@yahoo.com.

Page 8 Tidbits of Glenrock, Douglas and Wheatland May 9 - 15, 2013