It used to be considered dangerous for
girls to jump rope excessively; they risked illness, a dislodged uterus, or
even death.
Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, 17 July 1858
To make exactly one hundred jumps seems to
have been an especially risky endeavor.
Bluefield (West Virginia) Daily Telegraph, 23 March 1905
Chad Lewis, Hidden Headlines of Wisconsin (Eau
Claire, WI: Unexplained Research Publishing Company, 2007), p. 12.
Jumps
Rope 100 Times
Dies
Within An Hour
LA CROSSE – Gretchen
Henschel, aged 8 years, died here yesterday as the result of jumping rope. She
jumped 100 times in succession, then went into the house and became suddenly
ill. Death resulted in an hour. – Milwaukee
Journal, April 21, 1902.
Biloxi
Daily Herald, 31 May 1906
Always
Farther On
Have you ever heard the story
Of the girl of whom ‘twas said
She jumped the rope one hundred times
And suddenly fell dead?
Of course you never met her
Because it was her fate
To live in some far country
Off in another state [...]
