"3.2.1. Bungeeeee" - for more 25 years that is the last thing bungee jumpers have heard before taking the plunge. Bungee jumping remains one of the great modern day adrenaline rushes. From a lonely crane in the middle of a smoggy city, a bridge high over a raging river or even the Eiffel Tower, it seems there is still no substitute for the rash of hurling yourself into the abyss with only a big elastic band between you and the ground below.
The name bungee comes from the British slang term for Indian rubber and it is the simplest and most affordable of a growing range of aerial extreme sports, its origins are thousands of years old. The idea came from the ancient ritual GKOL performed on Pentecost Ireland, a remote island of Vanuata. Legend says a local man called Tamalie had a history of wife abuse. Unable to take any more, she ran away and climbed a tree where she wrapped lines around her ankles, when her husband came to retrieve her, the woman jumped off the tree and the husband followed, not knowing his wife had made preparations, he died, but the woman survived. The local men were so in all of the carriage they began to practice such jumps in case they were caught in a similar situation. It was seen to prove one's manhood and was transformed into a fertility ritual to help ensure a rich yam harvest. The head touching the ground was thought to fall fertilize the soil
Appropriately enough, bungee jumping as we know it started on April fool's day 1979 when a group of nutters from the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club jumped from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol England dressed in top hat and tails, and using nylon braided rubble shock cord instead of vines, they performed a four-man simultaneous jump, they were promptly picked up by the police. The world press also picked up the story and bungee jumping was born
In one of history's great PR stunts, bungee's popularity went through the roof when A. J. Hackett jumped from Eiffel Tower in Paris. In 1988 Hacket opened the first commercial operation in Ohakune New Zealand.
Why does bungee remained so appealing? Experts say more than just surfing a tidal wave of adrenalin, a bungee jump represents a gigantic legal faith requiring strength of character and courage, characteristics we all possess even if we sometimes don't realize it.
Jenny Gill is an international author with an immense range of knowledge and skills in a wide range of areas. Jenny is a mother and a grandmother and devotes a lot of her time supporting the aged in her community.
"3.2.1. Bungeeeee" - for more 25 years that is the last thing bungee jumpers have heard before taking the plunge. Bungee jumping remains one of the great modern day adrenaline rushes. From a lonely crane in the middle of a smoggy city, a bridge high over a raging river or even the Eiffel Tower, it seems there is still no substitute for the rash of hurling yourself into the abyss with only a big elastic band between you and the ground below. 
