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Who Invented the Bounce House?

Have you ever wondered who created the first bounce house? You know, those inflatable castles filled with air that provide hours of entertainment for kids all around the world?

Who Invented the Bounce House?

The first bounce house was invented by a man named John Scurlock in 1959. John was an engineer who was experimenting with different plastics to create inflatable signs and covers for tennis courts, swimming pools and other enclosures. One day, John noticed his employees having a blast jumping on one of his inflatable inventions and an idea struck him. Why not create an inflatable platform for kids to play on? Borrowing from his work with NASA, he called it the ‘Space Walk’. Later, the name ‘Moonwalk’ became more popular and was used in by the first inflatable rental companies.

First Bounce House Rental Company

Ten years after John Scurlock invented the bounce house, his wife Frances opened the first bounce house rental company. These early party inflatable rentals didn’t have walls and were actually pretty dangerous by today’s standards. Over the years, bounce houses were marketed under the names “Air Castle”, “Inflatable Castle”, “Bouncies”, “Moon Bounce”, “Boingalow”, “Astrojump”, “Moonwalk”, “Jolly Jump”, “Spacewalk” “Jumping Balloons” and “Brinca Brinca” which means “Jump Jump” in Spanish. They are usually rented out for school carnivals, church events, company picnics, community events and other events where fun children’s entertainment is desired. In addition to providing entertainment, bounce houses have been shown to provide therapeutic value for kids with sensory impairments.

Other Party Inflatable Rentals

Manufacturers of bounce houses are always experimenting with new ways to use the general design of the bounce house for other party inflatables. Some of these inventions over they years have included inflatable sports games, inflatable slides and inflatable obstacle courses. When it comes to party inflatables, if you can imagine it, a bounce house company has probably created it. Here at Cotton Candy Clowns, we carry a full lineup of bounce house rentals in the greater New York City area.

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