Clowning around. George Nissen invented the trampoline after a trip to the circus We can thank 16-year-old gymnast George Nissen for the modern trampoline. He invented the bouncing apparatus after ...

Inspired by circus acrobats, an American gymnast named George Nissen constructed the first trampoline out of canvas, angle iron and inner tubes in 1934. Nissen called his device a trampoline after ...