Blobbing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blobbing is an outdoor water activity in which a participant sits on the end of a partially-inflated air bag (known as a water trampoline or blob) and is then launched into the water after another participant jumps onto the air bag from a platform on the opposite side. The activity is popular at summer camps in North America. Various tricks, similar to those in diving, may be performed while the participant is in the air. The air bag is approximately 10 meters long (33 feet) by 2 meters wide (6 feet). The recommended height for the tower is 15 feet above the water surface, or 10 feet above the air bag.

[edit] Fantasy Factory

On the MTV show Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory On episode "Super Blob" Rob buys a blob and puts it in his warehouse.

The original blobs used were military surplus items. The "blob," was nothing other than a floating fuel tank that ships could tow. Since oil and gas floats on top of water, the fuel filled bladders floated next to the ships. The first blobbers were the sailors who would jump from the ship, onto the "blob."

Blobbing as a summer camp activity originated at Sky Ranch in Vann, Texas, founded in 1939. Tex Robertson, the founder of Camp Longhorn, bought the military surplus bladders, filled them with air, floated them on Inks Lake in the Texas Hill Country, and invented blobbing as we know it today for the campers of Camp Longhorn.

[edit] External links

• blob-europe.com, home page of the europe headquarter
• The-Blob.com, home page of the brand name manufacturer
• Overview of blobbing, including safety information
• Youtube video featuring blobbing (there are dozens of others as well)