FC: U.S. Patent Office awards patent for swinging on swing sideways

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[The most innovative patent yet! What will those cunning inventors think of 
next? Here's my favorite excerpt: "It should be noted that because pulling 
alternately on one chain and then the other resembles in some measure the 
movements one would use to swing from vines in a dense jungle forest, the 
swinging method of the present invention may be referred to by the present 
inventor and his sister as 'Tarzan' swinging. The user may even choose to 
produce a Tarzan-type yell while swinging in the manner described, which 
more accurately replicates swinging on vines in a dense jungle forest. 
Actual     jungle forestry is not required." --Declan]

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Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 12:22:05 -0400
From: Gabriel Rocha <gabe () seul org>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Subject: Patent for swinging on a swing sideways.
Message-ID: <20020417122202.D16067 () seul org>
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I still haven't been able to bring myself to believe it, but it is on
the official uspto site, so I don't know what to think. This is the
abstract for patent number 6,368,227 issued on April 9, 2002 (if the
date had said April 1 I would not have believed it at all) --Gabe

Abstract
A method of swing on a swing is disclosed, in which a user positioned on
a standard swing suspended by two chains from a substantially
horizontal tree branch induces side to side motion by pulling
alternately on one chain and then the other.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1='6,368,227'.WKU.&OS=PN/6,368,227&RS=PN/6,368,227




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