Jumper is a 2008American science fiction action film directed by Doug Liman, featuring Hayden Christensen as David Rice, a young man who discovers he possesses the ability to teleport instantaneously to any location he can visualize.[1] The story depicts David's use of this power to amass wealth through bank robberies and globe-trotting, only to attract the attention of the Paladins, a clandestine group led by Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) dedicated to exterminating teleporters.[2] Loosely adapted from Steven Gould's 1992 novel of the same name, the film emphasizes high-energy action and special effects over deep character exploration, resulting in a 15% approval rating from critics who faulted its incoherent plotting and underdeveloped protagonists, though it achieved moderate audience appeal with a 6.1/10 average user score.[3][1] Despite plans for sequels and a related TV series, the project stalled amid mixed commercial performance and narrative criticisms, highlighting tensions between spectacle-driven filmmaking and fidelity to source material.[3]
Clothing
Knitted pullover garment
A jumper, in the context of British English, refers to a knitted pullover garment, typically featuring a crew neck or V-neck and long sleeves, designed to be pulled over the head without front fastenings. This contrasts with American English usage, where "sweater" denotes the equivalent item, while "jumper" there signifies a pinafore dress.[4][5] The term derives from "jersey," a type of knitted wool fabric associated with durable seamen's wear originating in the Channel Islands.[6]The garment's practical origins trace to the 17th century, when woollen sweaters were developed for fishermen in Guernsey and Jersey to provide insulation and protection against harsh maritime conditions. These early designs, known as Guernseys or Ganseys, incorporated tight-fitting seams and reinforced patterns—such as diamond motifs under the arms—for enhanced durability during physical labor and to facilitate movement.[7][8] Crafted from worsted-spun wool yarn, which offers superior water resistance and thermal retention compared to looser wools, they prioritized functionality in cold, wet climates over aesthetics.[9][10]Traditional materials emphasize wool's natural insulating properties, trapping air for warmth while allowing moisture wicking, essential for extended exposure to elements; cotton variants emerged later for milder conditions but lack equivalent thermal efficiency.[11][12] This utilitarian focus underscores the jumper's evolution as a labor-essential item, with empirical advantages in cold-weather utility validated by its adoption among coastal workers across Northern Europe by the 19th century.[13]
Pinafore or strap dress
In American English, a jumper refers to a sleeveless one-piece dress, usually with thin shoulder straps and an A-line or similar fitted bodice flaring to a full skirt, designed specifically for layering over a blouse, shirt, or turtleneck.[14] This construction provides coverage for the torso while exposing the arms and often the neckline of the undergarment, differing from full-coverage dresses by prioritizing modularity for varied outfits.[14] The term's application to this garment emerged distinctly in North American usage by the mid-20th century, contrasting with British English where "jumper" denotes a knitted sweater.[15]Originating from the protective pinafore aprons of the 18th century—initially "pin-a-fore" garments pinned over dresses to shield against dirt and facilitate laundering—the jumper evolved into a freestanding dress form by the early 1900s, particularly for children's school uniforms and casual wear.[15] In the United States, patterns from the 1920s onward, such as those in Ladies' Home Journal sewing guides, documented jumpers as practical options for growing children, with skirt lengths standardized around knee-level for girls by the 1930s to balance modesty and mobility.[16] Post-World War II, amid fabric conservation influences from wartime rationing, American jumper designs emphasized minimal seams and durable cotton or wool blends, appearing in catalogs like Sears Roebuck with sales peaking in the 1950s for back-to-school ensembles, where over 40% of girls' uniform listings featured strap-style jumpers paired with collared blouses.[17]The jumper's structural advantages lie in its empirical suitability for temperate climates: the open sides and straps enable airflow in warmer conditions while allowing insulation via underlayers during cooler weather, reducing the need for multiple standalone garments and minimizing bulk—tests in textile engineering from the 1940s confirmed such layered assemblies retained 15-20% better thermal regulation than single-layer equivalents under variable humidity.[17] Culturally, it became a staple in American parochial and public school attire by the 1960s, with enrollment data from urban districts showing jumpers in 60-70% of female student dress codes for their ease in group settings and resistance to wear from daily activities like playground use.[18] Though versatile for adults in casual contexts, its primary association remains with youth apparel, where durability metrics from period laundry studies indicated pinafore-derived fabrics withstood 50% more washes without fading compared to unlayered synthetics.[16]
Electronics and computing
Electrical connector or shunt
In electronics, a jumper functions as a short conductor, typically a wire or molded plastic component with embedded metal contacts, designed to electrically bridge two adjacent points on a printed circuit board (PCB) or breadboard, thereby closing or bypassing sections of a circuit to configure functionality.[19] This low-impedance connection diverts current along a predefined path, enabling features such as activating dormant traces or isolating components during assembly or testing, grounded in the principle that minimal resistance facilitates unimpeded electron flow without introducing voltage drops that could alter circuit behavior.[20][21]Common types include wire jumpers, which consist of insulated leads terminated with pins or sockets for temporary prototyping on breadboards, and shunt jumpers, compact U-shaped or closed-top plastic housings containing conductive alloy clips that snap over header pins for permanent or semi-permanent PCB configurations.[22][23] Surface-mount variants, such as zero-ohm resistors or solderable bridges, integrate directly onto PCB pads for high-density boards, while through-hole shunts accommodate pins spaced at standard pitches like 2.54 mm (0.100 in) to match common connector families.[24][25] These designs emerged alongside the proliferation of PCBs in the mid-20th century, with shunt-style components gaining prevalence in the 1970s as modular assembly techniques advanced in consumer electronics manufacturing.[26]Jumpers serve critical roles in circuit optimization, such as bypassing faulty elements to maintain operational integrity or redirecting signals in analog and digital prototypes, where precise placement ensures causal control over current paths without parasitic effects like inductance.[27] In applications like power distribution modules or sensor interfaces, they provide a reliable means to select operational modes by shorting control pins, as the conductive material—often tin-plated copper or beryllium copper alloy—sustains currents up to several amperes under rated conditions.[28] However, misuse, such as bridging unintended nodes, can induce short circuits that exceed component tolerances, generating excessive heat via I²R losses and potentially damaging semiconductors or traces, underscoring the need for verification against schematics prior to installation.[20][27]
Motherboard configuration pins
Motherboard configuration pins, commonly bridged by plastic shunts, enable hardware-level selection of operational parameters on personal computer motherboards by completing electrical circuits between specific pin pairs. These jumpers, typically consisting of two or three exposed pins labeled in the motherboard manual, allow users to short-circuit traces that influence voltage levels, resistor networks, or signal paths, thereby setting binary states readable by the BIOS or chipset during power-on self-test (POST).[29][30]Introduced prominently in the mid-1980s with the proliferation of IBM PC-compatible systems following the 1981 IBM PC 5150—which initially relied more on DIP switches—jumpers standardized configuration for CPU clock multipliers, bus speeds, and RAM decoding in 286 and 386-era boards from manufacturers like IBM's PC AT (Model 5170, 1984) and clones.[31] By the 1990s, they were ubiquitous for fine-tuning processor ratios (e.g., BF0/BF1/BF2 pin configurations on early Pentium boards to select multipliers like 2.5x or 3x) and enabling features such as cache or onboard peripherals, reflecting the shift from soldered components to modular, user-configurable hardware in x86 architectures.[32]Common applications include shorting pins to clear CMOS memory (resetting BIOS settings to defaults via temporary discharge of the RTC battery circuit), selecting CPU core voltage (e.g., 1.5V vs. 1.8V paths), or initiating BIOS recovery modes by grounding recovery pins during flash updates.[30][33] While not directly controlling boot order—that typically occurs via BIOS menus—jumpers can enforce low-level modes like legacy vs. recovery boot or disable integrated devices to prioritize add-in cards, ensuring compatibility in multi-drive setups (e.g., forcing primary IDE controller precedence over SATA in hybrid systems).[34]In contemporary UEFI firmware environments, adopted widely since Intel's 2005 specification and mandatory for Windows 11 certification by 2021, software interfaces have supplanted many jumper functions for dynamic adjustments like multiplier ratios or device enabling, reducing hardware dependency for end-users.[35] However, jumpers remain for critical, tamper-resistant tasks such as CMOS resets or BIOS write-protection, as software alone cannot bypass locked firmware states.[36]Their persistence is evident in embedded systems, where minimalistic designs prioritize reliability over user interfaces; for instance, industrial motherboards use jumpers to hard-set watchdog timers, I/O port mappings, or boot strapping without volatile storage, as seen in Supermicro's server-grade boards compliant with embedded standards like PICMG.[37] Misconfiguration disrupts this hardware-software handshake: incorrect shunting can apply erroneous voltages (e.g., overvolting CPU pins leading to thermal runaway) or fail POST by altering clock signals, resulting in no-boot conditions resolvable only by jumper repositioning or power-cycle protocols, underscoring their role in binary logic validation during initialization.[38][39]
Automotive
Battery jumper cables
Battery jumper cables, also known as booster cables, are heavy-duty electrical cables equipped with alligator clips at each end, designed to transfer electrical power from a functional donor vehicle's battery to a depleted recipient battery, enabling the cranking of the stalled engine. By connecting the positive terminals of both batteries together and the negative terminal of the donor to a chassisground on the recipient, the cables create a parallel circuit that supplements the weak recipient battery with high current from the donor's battery and running alternator, typically delivering 200 to 400 amperes during the short engine-start surge.[40][41] This transient high-amperage application distinguishes them from low-current shunts, focusing on overcoming the recipient starter motor's inrush demand of several hundred amps without sustaining long-term power delivery.[42]Constructed with thick, flexible copper or copper-clad wire—usually 4 to 6 AWG (American Wire Gauge) for passenger vehicles—to handle peak loads while resisting voltage drop and overheating, these cables minimize resistance in the path, ensuring efficient power transfer over lengths of 10 to 20 feet.[42] Thicker gauges, such as 2 AWG or 1/0 AWG, support higher amperage for trucks or commercial applications exceeding 400 amps.[43] The alligator clips provide secure, temporary mechanical and electrical connections to battery terminals or unpainted metal grounds, avoiding direct contact with moving parts like fans or belts.[40]Lead-acid batteries in vehicles emit hydrogen gas during discharge or recharging, forming an explosive mixture with oxygen that can ignite from sparks generated during cable connection or disconnection.[44] Reverse polarity—connecting positive to negative—produces intense arcing and potential short circuits, amplifying explosion risk; thus, protocols mandate verifying terminal markings (red for positive, black for negative) and connecting in sequence: donor positive to recipient positive, donor negative to recipient ground (away from battery to displace spark hazard), start donor engine first, then attempt recipient crank.[41] Failure to follow this risks battery rupture, acid spray, or fire, with documented cases of explosions from improper handling in confined or unventilated spaces.[45]Jump-starting proves effective for batteries with partial discharges, such as from accessory drain, succeeding in enabling engine start when the recipient battery retains capacity to hold charge post-crank and the starter draws within cable limits.[46] For standard automotive scenarios, proper technique yields reliable results without damaging the donor system, though deeply sulfated or shorted cells in the recipient battery reduce viability, often necessitating replacement over repeated jumping.[47] Post-jump, driving the recipient vehicle for 15-30 minutes allows alternator recharging, restoring full operation if the battery is serviceable.[48]
Sports
Track and field jumper
A track and field jumper competes in events that test explosive power and precision, measuring either vertical height cleared or horizontal distance achieved from a takeoff. The primary events are high jump and pole vault, which assess maximum height, and long jump and triple jump, which measure distance from a runway takeoff to landing in a pit. These disciplines originated in ancient Olympic Games around 776 BCE, incorporating jumps alongside running and throwing, and were formalized in the modern Olympics starting in 1896 for men, with women's events added from 1928.[49][50]World records underscore the limits of human performance under standardized rules, such as no wind assistance exceeding 2.0 m/s for horizontal jumps. In men's high jump, Javier Sotomayor holds the record at 2.45 meters set on July 27, 1993, in Salamanca, Spain, requiring athletes to clear a bar without knocking it off using techniques that minimize center-of-mass height relative to the bar. Men's long jump record stands at 8.95 meters by Mike Powell on August 30, 1991, in Tokyo; triple jump at 18.29 meters by Jonathan Edwards on August 7, 1995, in Gothenburg; and pole vault at 6.24 meters by Armand Duplantis on June 8, 2024, in Rome, where a flexible pole converts kinetic energy into vertical lift. Women's records include 7.52 meters in long jump by Galina Chistiakova on June 11, 1988, in Leningrad.[51][52][53]The Fosbury Flop, popularized by Dick Fosbury's Olympic gold in 1968, revolutionized high jump by enabling a backward arch over the bar, allowing the jumper's center of mass—typically located near the hips—to pass below the bar height while the body contours clear it, optimizing clearance based on rigid-body dynamics rather than prior straddle or scissor methods. This technique exploits the principle that only the center of mass must avoid the bar, reducing effective height by up to 10-15 centimeters through spinal flexion and shoulder extension. In horizontal jumps, biomechanics emphasize takeoff angle around 18-22 degrees for long jump to balance horizontal velocity and vertical lift, with triple jump sequencing hop, step, and jump phases to conserve momentum.[54][55]Training prioritizes plyometric exercises that enhance the stretch-shortening cycle, where eccentric muscle loading precedes rapid concentric contraction, building fast-twitch fiber recruitment for power output measured in watts per kilogram. Protocols include depth jumps, bounding drills, and hurdle hops, progressing from low-intensity to event-specific volumes like 50-100 contacts per session to avoid overload. Empirical data from collegiate cohorts reveal elevated injury risks, including ankle sprains (23% in long jumpers), hamstring strains in pole vaulters, and Achilles tendon pathologies from repetitive high-impact loading, with rupture incidence linked to tendon stiffness deficits and sudden eccentric demands during takeoff.[56][57][58]
Ski jumper
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which athletes descend a steep in-run ramp on specially designed skis, launch from a curved takeoff, maintain an aerodynamic flight posture to maximize distance, and land on a sloped outrun while adhering to strict form criteria evaluated by judges. The International Ski Federation (FIS) has governed the sport internationally since the 1920s, establishing rules for equipment specifications, hill profiles, and scoring that emphasize distance achieved relative to a hill size factor alongside style points deducted for faults like poor posture or touchdown errors. Competitions occur on constructed hills classified by size—normal (K-90 to K-99), large (K-100 to K-134), or flying hills exceeding K-135—where athletes typically reach in-run speeds exceeding 90 km/h before takeoff.[59][60][61]The evolution of ski design and technique has been driven by aerodynamic principles to optimize lift-to-drag ratios, with the parallel ski position of early eras giving way to the V-style in the mid-1980s. Pioneered by athletes like Swedish jumper Jan Boklöv, the V-style positions ski tips in a V formation during flight, increasing lift by approximately 30% compared to parallel skis through better airflow capture beneath the skier's body, which acts as a wing. Skis must conform to FIS-mandated dimensions—maximum length of 145% of the athlete's height, width limits, and cambered profiles for glide—while suits are regulated for porosity and fit to prevent excessive loft without providing unfair aerodynamic advantages. Bindings use a single standard heel block to ensure secure yet releasable attachment, reducing injury risk during falls.[62][63][60]Technique divides into four phases: the in-run, where crouched posture minimizes drag for acceleration; takeoff, requiring explosive extension to achieve an optimal launch angle of around 10-12 degrees for initial velocity conversion to height; flight, sustaining a forward-leaning "egg" position with knees flexed, arms tucked, and skis in V to balance lift against gravity and drag; and landing in telemark style, one ski ahead of the other, penalized for instability. Causal factors for distance include in-run speed squared contributing disproportionately to jump length via kinetic energy transfer, modulated by air density, wind, and gate adjustments that equalize starting positions. The men's world record stood at 253.5 meters, set by Austrian Stefan Kraft on March 18, 2017, at Vikersund's flying hill, nearly exhausting the outrun and highlighting limits imposed by hill geometry and safety.[61][62][64]Inherent risks arise from high-speed instability, particularly during takeoff or turbulent flight, leading to crashes that can result in severe injuries or fatalities; multiple deaths occurred in the 1970s amid aggressive distance pursuits and less refined equipment. Safety advancements since then include standardized heel blocks, enhanced hill profiling to mitigate landing impacts, mandatory helmets, and aerodynamic testing to curb excessive risk-taking, yielding improved records as evidenced by fewer catastrophic incidents in FIS-sanctioned events. These measures reflect causal trade-offs between performance gains and injury prevention, with ongoing FIS scrutiny of wind conditions and suit materials to maintain competitive equity.[65][60]
Equestrian jumper
Equestrian jumping, or show jumping, is an equestrian discipline wherein a horse and rider navigate a timed course comprising 10 to 13 colored fences or obstacles, with success measured by minimizing faults—such as four penalties per knockdown or refusal—and adhering to time limits. Obstacle heights in eliteinternational events reach up to 1.60 meters, with spreads varying by fence type, demanding precise synchronization between the horse's propulsion and the rider's cues to avoid disruptions in stride or balance. Unlike unmounted humanjumping sports, this requires equine biomechanics for elevation, where the horse's hindquarter thrust generates the vertical impulse necessary to clear barriers exceeding solo human capabilities, governed by principles of takeoff velocity and parabolic trajectory.[66][67]The discipline debuted as an Olympic event in 1912 at the Stockholm Games, featuring individual and team formats initially restricted to military personnel, evolving to include civilians by 1952 and emphasizing technical precision over endurance. Warmblood breeds, including Dutch Warmbloods and Hanoverians, predominate due to selective breeding for bascule technique—rounding the back for efficient clearance—and sustained power output, outperforming lighter breeds in fault-free rounds at Grand Prix levels. Causal efficacy stems from the horse's impulsion, defined as elastic energy storage in hindlimb tendons during approach, released via rider-timed aids to align the center of mass over the obstacle's apex.[68][69][70]Governed by Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) standards, competitions span levels from novice (0.90-1.00 meters) to five-star events with prize money influencing entries, yet animal welfare critiques highlight risks of suspensory ligament strains and overexertion from repetitive high-impact loading. Empirical data indicate veterinary protocols, including pre-competition soundness exams and blood-on-the-boot rules prohibiting visible spur-induced bleeding, have lowered injury rates through enhanced shoeing, surface designs, and recovery monitoring, though lameness persists in 10-15% of elite jumpers annually per longitudinal studies.[66][71]
Arts, media, and entertainment
Film and television
Jumper is a 2008 American science fictionaction film directed by Doug Liman, starring Hayden Christensen as David Rice, a teenager who discovers he possesses the ability to teleport, or "jump," to any location instantaneously.[1] The screenplay, written by David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls, and Simon Kinberg, adapts Steven Gould's 1992 novel of the same name, depicting Rice's use of his powers for theft and luxury before clashing with the Paladins, a millennia-old organization hunting teleporters, led by Samuel L. Jackson's character Roland.[72] Produced by Liman, Lucas Foster, and others for Fox Atomic and New Regency, the film featured co-stars Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, and Max Thieriot, with practical effects emphasizing teleportation's physicality alongside CGI for global set pieces.[1] Released on February 14, 2008, it opened to $27.4 million domestically and earned $80.2 million in North America alongside $144.9 million internationally, totaling $225.1 million worldwide against an $85 million budget.Critical reception was largely negative, with the film earning a 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 169 reviews, where the consensus highlighted "uninvolving characters and loose narrative" alongside "lackluster special effects."[3] Reviewers criticized Christensen's wooden performance, plot inconsistencies, and underdeveloped antagonist motivations, though some praised the inventive action sequences and teleportation concept's visual execution.[73]Roger Ebert gave it 1.5 out of 4 stars, calling it a "silly" prequel-like setup lacking coherence despite its premise's potential.[73] No major production controversies emerged, but post-release analysis attributed its failure to spawn sequels—despite initial franchise plans—to poor word-of-mouth and script deviations from the source material's grounded tone.[74]The Jumper concept extended to television with Impulse, a 2018–2019 series executive produced by Liman for YouTube Premium, loosely drawing from Gould's 2012 novel Impulse in the same universe. Starring Maddie Hasson as Henrietta "Henry" Coles, a 16-year-old who acquires teleportation amid personal trauma, the show explores psychological consequences and pursuit by authorities, differing from the film's high-stakes global chases by focusing on intimate, character-driven drama over action spectacle.[74] Running two seasons with 10 and 10 episodes respectively, it received mixed reviews for its handling of mental health themes but was canceled after low viewership metrics, underscoring limited enduring appeal for the "jumper" trope in serialized format. No other major films or series directly titled Jumper center on teleportation, though the term has appeared in sci-fi contexts referencing the 2008 film's popularized slang for such abilities.[75]
Music
"Jumper" is a song by American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind, appearing on their self-titled debut studio album released on April 8, 1997. Written and produced by frontman Stephan Jenkins, the track features acoustic guitar-driven verses building to electric choruses, with lyrics urging compassion toward someone contemplating suicide by jumping from a ledge: "I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend / You could cut ties with all the thieves that you know." Jenkins drew inspiration from the suicide of a bullied gay teenager and his own experiences with dysfunctional relationships, aiming to highlight the consequences of cruelty and isolation.[76][77]Released as the album's fifth single on August 4, 1998, "Jumper" achieved commercial success, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remaining on the chart for 19 weeks. The song's radio-friendly pop rock structure contributed to its airplay dominance, helping propel the album to six-times platinum certification in the United States by 2000. Despite its somber theme, the track resonated broadly, often interpreted as an anti-bullying anthem emphasizing empathy over judgment.[78][79]Other musical works titled "Jumper" include the 2021 drum and bass track by British band Rudimental featuring singer Kareen Lomax, from their fourth studio album Ground Control, which explores themes of emotional vulnerability through lyrics about wearing one's heart openly: "Inside of this jumper / Wearing your heart on your sleeve." Earlier, blues musician R.L. Burnside recorded "See My Jumper Hanging on the Line" in 1978, a raw Delta blues piece captured during fieldwork in Mississippi, reflecting rural hardship and longing.[80][81]
Literature and other media
Steven Gould's science fictionnovelJumper, first published in 1992 by Tor Books, centers on protagonist Davy Rice, a teenager who discovers his ability to teleport and uses it to escape an abusive father, subsequently navigating survival, theft for sustenance, and pursuit by a secretive organization dedicated to eradicating teleporters.[82] The narrative examines ethical dilemmas of unchecked personal power, including isolation from society and moral rationalizations for crime, while establishing consistent internal rules for teleportation—such as requiring line-of-sight or prior visitation for destinations and conserving momentum to avoid physical harm from velocity mismatches.[83] These rules prioritize narrative utility over empirical physics, as real-world teleportation of matter would violate conservation of energy and momentum, necessitating immense power inputs equivalent to planetary-scale computations and precluding instantaneous human-scale transfers without disintegration.[84]The series continues with sequels that expand the teleportation mechanics and interpersonal consequences. Reflex (2004) follows Davy and his partner Millie as they confront renewed threats from the anti-teleporter group, incorporating elements like implanted tracking devices that force strategic adaptations to the ability's limitations.[82] Later entries, including Impulse (2012) and Exo (2014), introduce generational aspects, with characters developing auxiliary skills like exoskeletal enhancements, while maintaining the core theme of causality in power usage—teleportation enables evasion but amplifies risks from predictable human behaviors and institutional responses.[85] Gould's framework debunks simplistic power fantasies by depicting physiological and logistical strains, such as disorientation from rapid jumps or detection via financial trails, aligning closer to causal realism than many speculative fictions.[86]Reception has highlighted the series' brisk pacing and exploration of teleportation's practical implications, with critics noting its subversion of superhero tropes by grounding the ability in personal vulnerabilities rather than omnipotence.[87] However, some reviews critique the minimal engagement with foundational physics, observing that the depicted jumps sidestep quantum information theory—where experimental "teleportation" transmits only states, not objects—and ignore thermodynamic barriers like entropy increase or relativistic mass-energy equivalence, rendering the premise a thought experiment unsubstantiated by observable causality.[88] Despite this, the novels' focus on ethical survival amid persecution has sustained interest, evidenced by ongoing publications into the 2010s.[89]
People
Individuals with the surname Jumper
John M. Jumper (born 1985) is an American computational biologist and director at Google DeepMind, recognized for developing AlphaFold, an AI system that achieved breakthrough accuracy in predicting protein structures, solving a longstanding challenge in biology.[90] He shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Demis Hassabis and David Baker for this computational approach to protein design and prediction, which has enabled modeling of nearly all known proteins and advanced drug discovery efforts.[91] Jumper's work built on prior machine learning techniques, demonstrating causal efficacy through empirical validation against experimental data like X-ray crystallography.[92]John P. Jumper is a retired United States Air Force four-star general who served as the 17th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force from September 6, 2001, to September 2, 2005, overseeing organizational, training, and equipping functions for 1.4 million personnel during post-9/11 operations.[93] A command pilot with over 4,000 flying hours, primarily in fighter aircraft, he logged more than 1,400 combat hours in Southeast Asia, contributing to operational doctrines in high-threat environments.[94] After retiring, Jumper led Science Applications International Corporation as CEO, applying military logistics expertise to defense contracting.[95]Betty Mae Tiger Jumper (April 27, 1923 – January 14, 2011) was the first woman to chair the Seminole Tribe of Florida, elected in 1967 and serving until 1971, during which she advocated for tribal sovereignty and economic development amid federal oversight constraints.[96] Born to a Seminole mother and white father near Indiantown, Florida, she became the first Seminole to learn English literacy, graduate high school (from Flandreau Indian School in 1942), and complete a nursing program, later establishing the tribe's first health clinic to address endemic diseases like tuberculosis.[97] Her leadership emphasized self-reliance, evidenced by initiatives in education and healthcare that reduced tribal dependency on government aid.[98]John Jumper (c. 1820 – September 21, 1896), also known as Heneha Mikko, was a Seminole leader who served as principal chief of the Seminole Nation from 1849 to 1865 and again from 1882 to 1885, navigating post-removal factionalism after the Second Seminole War.[99] Nephew of chief Micanopy, he initially resisted U.S. forces but allied with Confederate interests during the Civil War, leading Seminole troops in support of Southern forces before reconciling factions for reunification in Indian Territory.[100] His tenure involved treaty negotiations that secured land allotments, though internal divisions over slavery and governance persisted, reflecting pragmatic adaptations to territorial realities.[99]
Religious groups
Historical jumping sects
The Pryguny, or Jumpers, emerged as a distinct sect within the broader Spiritual Christian movement in Russia during the early 19th century, evolving from Molokan communities originally formed in the Tambov region around the 1760s under leaders like Semeon Uklein.[101] These groups rejected Orthodox ritualism and emphasized direct spiritual experience, with Pryguny specifically manifesting the Holy Spirit through vigorous jumping, leaping, and ecstatic physical movements during worship services, interpreted by adherents as divine inspiration but observed by contemporaries as involuntary convulsions akin to hysteria induced by prolonged communal fervor.[102] Eyewitness accounts from Russian officials and ethnographers in the Caucasus, where the sect concentrated after internal migrations, described participants "jumping like frogs" in trance-like states, often leading to exhaustion, which empirical reports linked to psychological contagion in isolated, high-stress sectarian environments rather than supernatural causation.In parallel, the Welsh Jumpers arose amid the 18th-century Methodist revivals in Wales, particularly from the 1760s onward within Calvinistic Methodist circles, where participants engaged in spontaneous jumping and dancing as expressions of spiritual joy during open-air meetings and prayer gatherings.[104] Historical records from Welsh preachers and critics, such as those documenting the "jumping prophets" in Pembrokeshire, detail how these behaviors escalated in emotional camp meetings, with jumpers bounding repeatedly while shouting praises, a phenomenon attributed by observers to revivalist enthusiasm fostering mass psychogenic illness rather than authentic pneumatological events, as similar bodily agitations appeared in non-religious crowd panics.[105] Sectarian excesses, including reports of injury from uncontrolled leaps and doctrinal deviations toward antinomianism, prompted schisms and condemnations from mainstream Methodists like Howell Harris, who viewed the practices as undisciplined fanaticism undermining orderly faith.[106]Both sects exemplified broader patterns in 18th- and 19th-century Protestant dissent, where physical jumping served as a cathartic release in oppressed or marginalized communities, yet declined through assimilation into less ecstatic denominations by the early 20th century; Pryguny groups fragmented under Soviet suppression and American modernization, with many converting to Pentecostal variants by the 1920s, while Welsh Jumpers integrated into established Nonconformist churches, diluting distinctive rituals amid criticisms of irrationality.[107][108] This trajectory reflects causal dynamics of institutional pressures favoring restrained worship, as unverifiable ecstatic claims yielded to empirical scrutiny and social conformity, though remnant communities preserved oral traditions of the practices as markers of authentic spirituality.[109]
Other uses
Puddle jumper aircraft
A puddle jumper is slang for a small, light aircraft designed for short-haul regional flights, often to remote or underserved airstrips, typically accommodating 2 to 6 passengers with a range under 200 miles per hop. These planes, such as the Cessna 172 or Piper PA-18 Super Cub, feature single- or twin-engine piston propulsion, simple instrumentation suited for visual flight rules (VFR) operations, and rugged construction for operations on unprepared strips or over water.[110] The term evokes the image of hopping over small bodies of water or "puddles" between islands or coastal points, prioritizing accessibility and low operating costs over speed or comfort.The phrase emerged in the 1930s, tied to early U.S. airmail services and bush flying in regions like northern Canada, where diminutive planes serviced short, frequent routes from improvised fields.[111] By the post-World War II era, surplus military trainers like the Piper L-4 Grasshopper adapted for civilian use reinforced the archetype, enabling economical transport to isolated communities without the infrastructure demands of larger jets.[112] Unlike commercial airliners, puddle jumpers emphasize versatility for low-volume demand, such as island-hopping in the Pacific or rural shuttles, with fuel efficiency and minimal crew requirements driving their economic viability.[113]General aviation aircraft, encompassing puddle jumpers, exhibit accident rates approximately 40 times higher than scheduled commercial operations, at about 7 incidents per 100,000 flight hours versus 0.16 for airlines, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) analyses.[114] Fatal accidents in general aviation occur at roughly 1 per 100,000 flight hours, predominantly from pilot error in decision-making or spatial disorientation during VFR conditions, rather than mechanical failures.[115] This disparity stems from less stringent regulatory oversight, variable pilot experience, and exposure to uncontrolled airspace, underscoring the trade-off for their utility in niche, non-scheduled roles.[116]
Bungee or extreme jumper
In extreme sports, a bungee or extreme jumper refers to an individual who performs high-risk descents from elevated structures using elastic cords for bungee jumping or parachutes for BASE (Building, Antenna, Span, Earth) variants, where the term "jumper" denotes the participant voluntarily exposing themselves to rapid freefall and abrupt arrest with limited redundancy for failure. These activities prioritize personal thrill-seeking over organized competition, with jumps often from bridges, towers, or cliffs reaching heights of 40 to 300 meters. The modern bungee jumping practice originated on April 1, 1979, when four members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club, including David Kirke, executed the first documented leaps from the 76-meter Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, using latex rubber cords inspired by Vanuatu land-diving rituals. Commercial operations began in 1988 under A.J. Hackett at New Zealand's 43-meter Kawarau Bridge, standardizing equipment to include harnesses and dynamic cords calibrated for jumper weight.[117]The physics of these jumps hinges on gravitational freefall—accelerating at approximately 9.8 m/s² until the cord deploys—followed by elastic rebound, where potential energy stored in the stretching cord (Hooke's law: F = -kx) generates deceleration forces typically limited to 3-5g (three to five times body weight) through precise cord length and elasticity ratios, though peaks can exceed this in under-optimized setups. For instance, modeling shows maximum accelerations around 2.7-3g for standard 36-meter drops when cords are tuned to avoid whiplash. BASE jumping amplifies hazards by initiating parachute deployment at altitudes as low as 100-200 meters, curtailing time for canopy stabilization and error correction, with causal failures often stemming from off-heading openings or terrain proximity rather than equipment alone. Industry data reveal bungee fatality rates of about 1 in 500,000 jumps, mainly from cord breakage, harness slippage, or misjudged lengths, rates that empirical tracking attributes to mechanical vulnerabilities rather than overstated safety narratives.[118][119][120]BASE jumping exhibits far steeper risks, with epidemiological analysis of 20,850 jumps from Norway's Kjerag Massif documenting 9 fatalities (0.04% rate) and 82 injuries (0.4% rate), equating to 5-8 times the per-jump mortality of skydiving due to unforgiving low margins and environmental variables like wind shear. Long-term health consequences for repeat jumpers include vertebral compression fractures from peak g-loads, recurrent neck strains, and ocular injuries such as retinal hemorrhages from venous pressure spikes during rebound, as evidenced in injury cohorts where males aged 30-40 predominate at a 10:1 ratio over females. Record feats, such as the 233-meter (764-foot) commercial bungee from Macau Tower established in 2005 by A.J. Hackett, exemplify engineered extremes but do not negate cumulative physiological tolls, with causal realism dictating that each exposure compounds micro-trauma irrespective of survival odds.[121][122]