World Jump Day Date in the current year: July 20, 2024

Have you ever thought what would happen if all people on Earth jumped at the same time? A once popular theory claimed that it would affect the planet’s rotation and help reduce global warming. World Jump Day was created to confirm or disprove this theory. In 2006, German artist Torsten Lauschmann launched a website to encourage people around the world to synchronize their watches and jump at precisely 11:39:13 GMT on July 20, 2006. Lauschmann’s website allegedly gathered 600 million registered jumpers who were ready to participate in the experiment.

As it turns out, Lauschmann’s initiative was a satirical art installation rather than a scientific experiment, and the “jump theory” has long since been proven to be unscientific: the total weight of 600 million people (and even of all 8 billion people on the planet) is negligible compared to the mass of Earth, and all these people jumping simultaneously would have no effect on Earth’s rotation or orbit whatsoever.

Nevertheless, World Jump Day has been celebrated by enthusiasts around the globe ever since its inception for at least two reasons. First, global warming is a real problem that has already affected billions of people, and raising public awareness about it is really important. Second, jumping is a fun activity that deserves to be celebrated.

If you want to focus on jumping on World Jump Day, go for it! You can jump on a trampoline, go bungee jumping, jump into a swimming pool, jump with a rope, do a couple of dozen jumping jacks, or sign up for a rebound fitness class (a type of low-impact exercise performed on a mini-trampoline known as a rebounder).

However, we suggest that you also take some time to help raise awareness of global warming because this issue concerns everyone on the planet. Even though jumping simultaneously with 600 million other people won’t do anything, there’s still a way for you to contribute to the fight against global warming and climate change. There are a lot of simple and seemingly insignificant things you can do to make a difference, for example:

• Replace regular light bulbs with LEDs to reduce your energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
• Walk, bike, carpool or use public transport instead of driving at any chance you get.
• If you have no alternatives to driving, invest in a fuel-efficient vehicle.
• Reduce and recycle your household waste.
• Take shorter showers to save water and energy.
• Turn off electronic devices when you’re not using them.
• Switch to sustainable packaging.
• Install solar panels on your home if possible.
• Make sure your home is adequately insulated to use less heating and air conditioning.
• Don’t buy more food than you can eat and consider composting organic waste.

Other ways to contribute include donating to an environmental charity of your choice and spreading the word about #WorldJumpDay on social media.