Screw your Segways, I was there at the true dawn of the modern transportation revolution.

Pogo Bal, released in North America by Hasbro in November 1986 in time for the Christmas rush. They were based on a popular European version, named the Lolobal.

At the time, they marketed them in many ways, touting the fun and health aspects of the device. TV ads, like the one below, even show dance clubs and exercise classes bouncing in sync on Pogo Bals. New ways to play sports are implied. Truly, 1987 opened to a future full of infinite promise as far as the Pogo Bal was concerned. Anything...nay, everything!...was possible.

I had the best one - orange and yellow. And, well...not to brag, but I was pretty good, too. I could bounce straight up to the top of a picnic table in a single hop and mastered a number of tricks like kicking it up behind me and catching it over my head or standing on a picnic table and tossing it out in front of me, jumping out, catching it mid-air with my feet, and hitting the ground hopping. There were few trick involving the combination of Pogo Bals and picnic tables I could not conquer, it seemed. It was a magical time...

Here's a TV spot with the rushed theme song and showing the many, many uses for Pogo Bals! (Never mind that half the ad is adults and not one person over 15yo ever actually used one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ij-8SKvRUc