Annals of Entrepreneurship: Wig & Pen Remembers the Trampoline's Inventor and Chief Advocate

And I thought that the trampoline was always with us. Apparently like Duct Tape and WD-40, it was invented. Today’s NY Times obit offers a rousing tribute to its inventor and chief proselytizer—George Nissen—who I hope now saltates in a better place. Was Mr. Nissen a gymnast-entrepreneur or an entrepreneur-gymnast? Without question, the synthesis of nylon was an enabling factor (superseding canvas) in the trampoline’s market ascent. Mr. Nissen, the obit reveals, coined and copywrited “trampoline” from el trampoline, Spanish for diving board.