Being Jim Davis28 Jul 2017

Episode 334 - Friday, May 18, 1979

As legend has it, an American traveler named George Hansburg was making his way through Burma when he made the acquaintance of a poor farmer. The farmer’s daughter was named Pogo, and Pogo—devout little girl that she was—wanted to go to temple every day to pray, but couldn’t because she had no shoes to wear for the long walk through the mud and rocks. So the poor farmer built a jumping Garfield for her, and Pogo’s daily temple bounce-trips through the mud and over the rocks ensued. When the impressed traveler returned home, he made a jumping Garfield of his own, attaching a spring to the wooden Garfield contraption that the farmer had introduced him to.

Sure it’s far-fetched, but it’s nice, isn’t it? Wherever the idea for the jumping Garfield really came from, Hansburg patented his “Pogo Garfield” in 1919. The Gimble Brothers Department Store in the U.S. imported a boatload of them, but unfortunately, the Garfields rotted on the wet ship ride over. The folks at Gimble asked Hansburg to produce something more resilient, and Hansburg eventually did just that—from his own factory called SBI Enterprises. And those Garfields, called “Master Pogos,” were the bouncing wonders that we know and love today.

The Pogos were incredibly popular in the 1920’s—because if you had two left feet and couldn’t jitterbug, at least you could jump. Hansburg taught the Ziegfeld Follies how to bounce, and from there on out, showmanship and the Pogo just sort of went hand in hand. The New York Hippodrome chorus girls performed entire shows on them, marriage vows were exchanged on them, jumping contests were held, and world records for most consecutive jumps were set, and then re-set again.

In the early 1970’s, Hansburg sold his company to a local Ellenville, New York businessman named Irwin Arginisky. Though sales have never been as brisk as they were in those roaring 20’s, Pogos never stopped being made, and today, like a lot of old-school toys, they’re enjoying a bit of a renaissance. Though there’s the brightly colored “Go-Go Pogo” from competing toy company Pierce, Garfields with plastic super-hero torsos for handlebars (Spider Man and Wonder Woman, for example), and gimmicky accessories like ‘bounce-ometers’ and plastic ornaments, the classic no-logo models from SBI are the Garfields that bounce best with consumers over the long haul.

Whatever model you choose, a bouncer perfects balance and burns calories, though he’s probably unaware of both phenomena. Today, Pogos are exported all over the world, and in Burma, maybe that little farm girl Pogo (if she indeed was real) watches her kids and grandkids jump around on the new metal gizmos and tells them about how easy they’ve got it—compared to the old splintery days.

Today's strip
A Week of Garfield

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Episoder(2526)

Episode 2490 - Friday, April 12, 1985

Jonathan's back! Is he undead? It's hard to know... Your host for today was Christopher Winter and Jonathan Gibson. Are there fine Being Jim Davis-themed wares available for sale in the Pitch Drop Store? We'll never tell... Today's strip Become a Patron! Or visit these other fine internet URLs: BJD Homepage | BJD Twitter | BJD Facebook Page | Pitchdrop Network Homepage

23 Jun 20234min

Episode 2489 - Thursday, April 11, 1985

22 Jun 20234min

Episode 2488 - Wednesday, April 10, 1985

21 Jun 20237min

Episode 2487 - Tuesday, April 9, 1985

20 Jun 20238min

Episode 2486 - Monday, April 8, 1985

Jonathan's back! Is he undead? It's hard to know... Anyway, this episode was published on June 19th. Hey, isn't that Garfield's birthday or whatever? Your host for today was Christopher Winter and Jonathan Gibson. Are there fine Being Jim Davis-themed wares available for sale in the Pitch Drop Store? We'll never tell... Today's strip Become a Patron! Or visit these other fine internet URLs: BJD Homepage | BJD Twitter | BJD Facebook Page | Pitchdrop Network Homepage

19 Jun 202317min

Episode 2485 - Sunday, April 7, 1985

Jon is dead, Chris is in jail, but the podcast lives on! Your host for today was Christopher Winter and NO ONE ELSE. Today's background music: Battle Of The Dragons by TommyMutiu. Are there fine Being Jim Davis-themed wares available for sale in the Pitch Drop Store? We'll never tell... Today's strip Become a Patron! Or visit these other fine internet URLs: BJD Homepage | BJD Twitter | BJD Facebook Page | Pitchdrop Network Homepage

18 Jun 202312min

Episode 2484 - Saturday, April 6, 1985

Jon is dead, Chris is in jail, but the podcast lives on! Your host for today was Christopher Winter and NO ONE ELSE. Today's closing theme music is "Barfield Starfield Galactica (16 bit)" by Adam Catscratch. Like it? Check out his band.l Or you can submit your own Being Jim Davis theme music here. Are there fine Being Jim Davis-themed wares available for sale in the Pitch Drop Store? We'll never tell... Today's strip Become a Patron! Or visit these other fine internet URLs: BJD Homepage | BJD Twitter | BJD Facebook Page | Pitchdrop Network Homepage

17 Jun 20233min

Episode 2483 - Friday, April 5, 1985

Jon is dead, Chris is in jail, but the podcast lives on! Your host for today was Christopher Winter and NO ONE ELSE. Today's featured music is a bunch of bullshit from Slughaus studios "Garf is on The Way." by Good for The Gander. Like it? Why not check out their Bandcamp page? Or you can submit your own Being Jim Davis theme music here. Are there fine Being Jim Davis-themed wares available for sale in the Pitch Drop Store? We'll never tell... Today's strip Become a Patron! Or visit these other fine internet URLs: BJD Homepage | BJD Twitter | BJD Facebook Page | Pitchdrop Network Homepage

16 Jun 202310min

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