Juggling goes back at least 4000 years, with paintings on the walls of some
Egyptian tombs.
Unicycling has no specific beginning, but it has been traced to around 1870,
when high wheeled bikes were popular, and a lot of people were hitting bumps
and experiencing "headers." What's a header? Imagine riding a giant wheel
with you sitting almost directly on top of it. Hit a bump that suddenly
slows your wheel, your body keeps going forward, your legs get caught under
the handlebars, and walah (now you don't have to try it yourselves)!
Somewhere during that time, one or more people figured out that they could
keep riding on just the front wheel, and unicycling was born. This was why
many of the first unicycles had large wheels, and handlebars instead of
seats. By the turn of the century, there were dozens of unicycle performers,
doing all kinds of tricks and stunts, some of which may not have been
duplicated since that time! See THE UNICYCLE BOOK by Jack Wiley. Look for
it in your local library.
John Foss, President
International Unicycling Federation
unifoss@cerfnet.com