What will they think of next?

This just in from the Washington DC desk: US Patent Application #7037243 - The Cordless Jump Rope, created by inventor Lester J. Clancy.

If you think keeping fit is merely mind over matter, Lester Clancy has an invention for you - a cordless jump-rope. That's right, a jump-rope minus the rope. All that's left is two handles, so you jump over the pretend rope. Or if you are truly lazy, you can pretend to jump over the pretend rope.

And for that idea kicking around Clancy's head since 1988, the U.S. Patent Office this month awarded the 52-year-old Mansfield, Ohio, man a patent. Its number: 7037243.

What makes this invention work is the moving weights inside the handles. They simulate the feel of a rope moving, Clancy said. Well, it's only one handle so far because Clancy is waiting for financial backers before building its partner.

But why jump rope without a rope?

It's perfect for the clumsy, Clancy said. "If you are still jumping, you're still using your legs as well as your arms, and getting the cardiovascular workout. You just don't have to worry about tripping on the rope."

It is also good for mental institutions and prisons where rope is a suicide risk, said Clancy, who works as a laundry coordinator in a state prison. And low ceiling fans aren't a hazard any more, he said.

All of the jumping, none of the tripping! Double-dutch your legs off like a Harlem schoolgirl without the neighbors seeing! Honey, let's sell the house and finance the other handle for this guy. We're gonna be rich, I tell ya! RICH!!!

Strawberry shortcake
Huckleberry pie
It's a patent on nothing, my, oh my!

Read the full story HERE and view the actual patent application HERE.

HT: Dave Barry's Blog