Bungee Jumping

Bungee jumping is an extreme sport in which people jump from higher ground like a bridge with an elastic rope tied to their ankles to stop them from hitting the ground. The rope stretches and doesn’t break. When the rope has stretched all the way, the jumper bounces back up. People wear helmets and other safety equipment.

Bungee jumping started in a small village on South Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. Two men jumped form a 30 metre tree to show how brave they were. They tied jungle vines around their ankles so they didn’t hit the ground. Ever year after that, other young men did the same thing.

Modern bungee jumping began when four British men jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In 1987, A.J. Hackett became famous when he jumped from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. After that, Hackett made the Kawarau Bridge in New Zealand. This became a bungee jumping area for anyone who wanted to try it. People came and paid money to jump from the bridge.

Adapted from www.wiki.kidzsearch.com