Many inventions were attempts made to help people or things move around. Some got their energy from nature and some were run by hand. However they were run, they all demonstrate the desire of inventors to improve ways of getting around.

Baby Carriage

In 1884, George Clark designed his baby carriage as a very fancy high top shoe, complete with laces and an umbrella to keep rain or sun off the baby’s head. The inventor hoped that wealthy parents would prefer to have their children pushed around town in this unusual novelty carriage instead of the kind that most people had, just like how nowadays people use the jogging strollers with the big rear wheel even though they don’t jog. Clark was right that people would pay extra for a novelty carriage, they just didn’t pick his.

Jumping Shoes

George and May Southgate invented jumping shoes in 1922 to try and get more kids to run and jump. The children wore the shoes over their regular shoes and a buckle held them in place. The shoes actually looked like a grasshopper and had six steel legs that were strong and springy, with rubber pads at the ends to soften landings and hopefully avoid injuries. The springy legs let you jump farther than with regular shoes.