For a whimsical two-minute video of a 71-year-old man doing a kind of gentle proto-parkour, this clip from the BBC archives is deeply informative. For example, did you know that "woggle" is not some weird Britishism for a mailbox or a body part, but is, in fact, a device that boy scouts use to fasten their neckerchiefs? Did you know that practically anything can be "woggle-hopped" as long as the thing that is being hopped is at the height of your woggle? Did you know it's a great way to stay fit, at least according to the charming George Corner?
#OnThisDay 1971: The art of 'woggle-hopping' was ably demonstrated by sprightly septuagenarian, 'Jumping' George Corner. pic.twitter.com/47uINtgG4b
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) June 24, 2021
Even at his age, Corner had great form, easily vaulting over woggles--though his discretion was prudent (he avoided hopping mailboxes "with spikes on top.") He traveled from his home in Batley, West Yorkshire, to London 50 years ago today to demonstrate woggle-hopping. His goal, he said, was to "encourage the younger people to woggle-hop."
According to the Colne Valley Postal History Museum, Corner died in 1979 at which point "a special memorial to him was erected in Batley churchyard showing him in full Scout uniform leapfrogging a post box."
