Originally published at: The Hop Rod was a dangerously fun motorized pogo stick | Boing Boing
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Florida man with all 10 fingers intact gives the gasoline powered pogo stick a try:
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Are they sure that it’s not the Earth repelling those pants?
They had one on the wall at ETCO Eletronics in Montreal in the 70s. I think it had a price tag.
The main problem with it would be heat dissipation. The spring on a regular pogo stick can get red hot with long use.
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I know those things. Great to compressing earth on a construction site.
There’s also a big version.
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Ow, my lower back pain. Plus I do hope it was never used as a sex toy.
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Hardly looks different in terms of hang time than a normal pogo stick. Where’s the hop?
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I read the part about being banned in the '70s, but I still want one. BTW, if the 1970’s say it’s too dangerous…
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It is Powerized!
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Hey, I had some great red, white, and blue striped slacks that were awesome for the bicentennial.
Fun Trivia: These commercials were filmed in Wichita, at A. Price Woodard Park, next to the big, circular Century II Performing Arts Center you see in the background. My dad was pastor at Central Church of Christ a couple of blocks away on the same side of the river (now called Riverwalk Church of Christ – we are not affiliated with them anymore). The park was a nice hangout if you were downtown looking for some peace and tranquility.
In the 80s, there were a couple of instances of pranking, when someone put soap in the fountains (the one out in front of Douglas Avenue), and foamed the place up good.
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One thing that puzzles me. The Hop Rod was only manufactured '60-'61, but those are 1970s pants.
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Well, I can confidently state that Century II was not built/open until 1969. 
Maybe someone figured they could get rid of old stock?
ETA: Ah, here’s a guy with some history and motor breakdown…it appears Chance Industries was having difficulties.
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Never had one of those but I could rock a regular pogo stick in the early 70s.
We were at our storage room this evening picking up our trailer for a trip to the garden center in the morning. There was my unicycle, my 57 year old self convinced my little boy self not to bring it home for a ride.
Deborah Harry explains The Pogo.
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I came here to say that it was probably repurposed from unsold stock of a failed motordildo product. As a single-cylinder engine, it presumably needs the full weight of a person repeatedly slamming against the ground to provide the reciprocating action, so even the most advanced power bottom would struggle to satisfy its needs for long
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https://www.bpmlegal.com/content/wpogo
He used a model “A” Ford spark coil which delivered quite a few volts to the unprotected spark plug - as I once found out when my zipper came in contact with it briefly. I haven’t had a thrill like that since!
Thrill…
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My goodness. What could possibly go wrong?
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Apparently my upstairs neighbor has one of these.
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Its really amazing that there is actually people of my generation still alive.
I feel sorry for today’s kids. They don’t get to play with toys that always seemed as if they were designed to kill everyone. Heck, Lawn Darts don’t even have sharp metal tips anymore!
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ah, ya beat me to it!
I know it wasn’t used, but I can think of few more appropriate fuels for this hilariously
and dangerously stupid toy than leaded gasoline.
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