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Step 1
Think about the courage of the first "land jumpers" (the original name) who lived on Vanuatu, in the Hebrides Islands. Beginning nearly 1,000 years ago, they built 100 foot towers with freshly cut wood and vines. This ritual, called N'gol, was offered in hopes of a rich yam harvest and was a means for the young men to prove their manhood.
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Step 2
Imagine the consequences the men faced as they jumped from the wooden platform. All that stood between them and death were two vines measured by a village elder; each pair of vines chosen according to the weight of the young man. Each vine must be elastic and full of sap, because if any spot was dry it was likely to snap.
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Step 3
Try to understand how important this ritual was to their culture. In order to add power to the ritual, the length of vine was just short enough for them to tuck their head and touch their shoulders to the ground. There was no safety harness, they simply tied the frayed ends of the vine around their ankles and leapt.
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Step 4
Fast-forward to the 1950s, when the BBC filmed these "land divers" and presented them to the world. In 1979, four college students in England saw the footage and decided to try it themselves. On April Fools Day, using rubber shock cords, they jumped from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. They were promptly arrested but the word spread around the world, giving birth to modern bungee jumping.
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Step 5
Visit Kawarau Bridge Bungy in Queenstown, New Zealand if you want to see the first commercial bungee jumping site. Millions of people have taken the plunge since the early 1980's and it is common to see bungee jumping cranes nearly everywhere, even at county fairs. Bungee jumping may be considered an "extreme sport", but it is a fairly popular one.
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Step 6
Remember that it is a relatively safe activity if you want to try it. Modern jumpers wear safety harnesses, and fittings and measurements are checked before every jump. Deaths are rare, but there is a chance for injury. The most common injuries are dislocation, eye trauma, back injury and rope burn. There is also the danger of becoming entangled in the rope.
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Step 7
See the real thing! "Land diving" is now a tourist attraction in Vanuatu. People visit from all over the world to see the original bungee jumpers do their thing. They still build the wooden platforms and they still use vines. They do not do it just for the money, though. It is still a yearly tradition for the young men of this culture.
