Jump Dreams

Forty years ago, when Tahira Reid Smith was in third grade, her teacher had the class make posters of something they wish existed. Smith thought it would be nice to have a Double Dutch machine that could turn jump ropes at a steady pace without having to find two volunteers. After all, she was an only child and knew what it was like to try to reign in people to turn the ropes. Her idea won the poster competition. 

Smith grew up and became a mechanical engineering professor at Purdue University. And an inventor! As an undergraduate, she worked with her mentor Professor Burt Swersey to develop the Double Dutch machine. Smith received the first patent for it in 1999. It took quite a few years to get it perfected and manufactured, but now the machine called Jump Dreams is making Double Dutch accessible to more people than ever. (via Metafilter)