Hop Rod: 1960 Motorized Pogo Stick
This next thing is straight out of a lawyer’s dream fantasy. It is what appears to be a device designed explicitly to shoot people into trees. It is the gas powered pogo stick (think of a combustion chamber were you are the connecting rod) and they were sold by an outfit called Change Manufacturing out of Wichita, KS in 1960 and 1961. Unfortunately, someone was injured during a publicity stunt at the Indy Motor Speedway and an evening TV personality was thrown off a Hop Rod and allegedly broke his shoulder. According to various internet sources, the Hop Rod was subsequently banned by the appropriate regulatory authorities and the Hop Rod was no more. Shame. The idiot of a gas powered Pogo Stick is nothing short of brilliant and I can’t believe I don’t own one. Find this 1960 Motorized Pogo Stick bidding for $355 in Forked River, NJ via ebay. Tip from Hugh!
From the seller:
pogo stick Hoprod Gasoline powered. Condition is “Used”. Engine and handle ready for restoration. Piston is not seized and goes up and down when you step on the peddles .
See a better way to break your collarbone? tips@dailyturismo.com
I bet a trampoline based off of the same concept would be killer!
I saw a set of Jarts for sale in a Goodwill a couple of years ago. Should have grabbed them. DIY backyard Action Park, aka “Class Action Park”.
Just imagine how much fun Hop Rod Basketball would have been, or maybe some sport that combined Hop Rods and Lawn Darts.
Well motorcycle lacrosse is still a possibility.
Back then adding a little nitromethane to the fuel supposedly added extra hop.
The ignition system on these is fascinating. A springy wire makes contact with the piston on the compression stroke and a coil charges a capacitor. When the big pogo stick spring pushes the piston back (functionally a flywheel) and a gap opens there is a spark and a power stroke.
I live near Wichita Kansas. Chance Industries is very much still in business. They are one of the largest makers of amusement park rides in the world. I had never heard of this device, but it looks fascinating in a “hold by beer and watch this” sort of way.
For what it’s worth, the TV adverts are filmed in front of the then new Century II Convention Center. This facility is still in use today and is the subject of a heated local “renovate or replace” discussion.
Thanks for the really interesting “local” content. I wish I had looked sooner and could have bid on the gadget.
How cool would it be to walk in with this and ask about parts?
I assumed that Chance had gone the way of Turbonique.
The Turbonique drag axle is the grownup version of this. Not “grownup” in the sense of mature and responsible, but you know, the “can run a monthly tab at a biker bar” kind of grownup.
This thing must have been invented by an orthopedic surgeon.