Awesome Jumping

Talented taekwondo artist minsungimdang shows off his power and precision as he jumps into the air and breaks four ceramic tiles with his feet while performing a backflip. He got a boost from his teammates, but that doesn’t make the feat any less impressive.

The world record for highest vertical jump by a human is 47.1″. JLaservideo wanted to see if it was possible to break that record with the help of engineering. After playing with off-the-shelf spring shoes and some terrifying explosive prototypes, he ended up building a pair that uses compressed air to provide lift.

Moon Shoes are toys that put a little extra spring in kids’ steps using elastic bands. Since they don’t really make kids jump much higher, maker Allen Pan decided it was time to create a more powerful version. After experimenting with springs and explosives, he settled on compressed air to propel them.

This 12″ tall robot can launch itself more than 100 feet into the air, making it the highest jumping robot. It stores up energy using a tiny motor and a fishing line to compress its springy legs before launch. Its lightweight feet efficiently transmit energy to the ground, and its dart-like shape once airborne helps it cut through the air.

If you spun a jump rope fast enough, would it be possible to shield yourself from the rain? I did a thing wanted to know the answer, so he did some math and got to work building a terrifying-looking machine intending to spin a rope fast enough to stay dry under its arc.

It’s tricky enough to balance on a unicycle, let alone jump one in the air and land back on its wheel without falling on your face. But Mike Taylor is a unicycle high jumper, and can launch his one-wheeler from the ground onto a stack of 10 shipping pallets, measuring roughly 61″ high.

A young man gets a running start and proceeds to jump all the way across the width of a two-lane suburban street. While it may seem like the kid has superhuman powers, his long jump is well short of the world’s record of 29 ft, 2.5 in set by Bob Beamon in 1968.

14 students from Japan’s Fuji Municipal Harada elementary school worked together to set a new record for the most skips by a team over a single jump rope in 60 seconds, getting their feet over the spinning rope 225 times without a miss – or about one jump every 1/4 second.

A spectacular show of athleticism and coordination from YouTuber Gumchan79793 and his high-speed jump rope antics. We just love that “swoosh” noise it makes when he hits his stride. More swooshing here. (Thanks Grigoris!)