A Jump Rope without... the Rope

An inventor from Mansfield, Ohio, has figured out a way to solve the problem of people tripping over the jump ropes: get rid of the rope! Sounds silly doesn't it? Imagine jumping around holding only the handles in your hands and just pretending you're jumping over the cord! But what if the handles could actually simulate the feeling of rotating the rope?

This is precisely what Lester J. Clancy did: "At the end of the handle, where the rope would typically be, a donut-shaped enclosure is provided and mounted to the handle along its symmetrical axis. Inside of each donut-shaped enclosure, a weighted ball that rotates around a circular chamber within the enclosure. When rotated, the weighted balls generate rotational torque to simulate the use of a jump rope."

The point of the invention is that you could take advantage of all the benefits of this physical exercise without the danger of stumbling in the process:

"To use the invention, a user holds a handle in each hand, and begins to simulate jumping rope while moving the handles in a circle with their hands and arms. The weighted ball or gear simulates the centrifugal action of a jump rope, thus delivering all the health benefits of jumping rope without any of the disadvantages of stumbling on the rope, having the rope hit the ceiling or the like."