Ski jumping as a form of exercise has grown immensely in popularity in recent years, especially among people who, because of knee problems, cannot jog. This exciting sport got its start as a symptom of mental illness in northern climes such as Norway and Sweden, where it is cold and dark and very little to do except pay taxes. Life is depressing in these countries.

Watch any movie by the famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, and you'll notice that all that ever happens in the entire two hours is depressed people sit around talking Swedish, This is what life in Sweden is actually like, except that it often lasts longer than two hours, After a while, the strain gets to people, and they suddenly leap up, barge out, don skis, and launch themselves off giant chutes.

Americans did very little ski jumping until the television program "Wide World of Sports' began showing a promotional film snippet in which a ski jumper hurtles off the edge of the chute, completely out of control, with various important organs flying out of his body. Fitness buffs saw this and realized that any activity with such great potential for being fatal must be very good, and so the sport began to catch on. Today, most major hotels offer ski jumping facilities for the convenience of business travelers. Also thanks to a new, innovative portable device, you can even engage in "simulated" ski jumping indoors! So there's really no excuse not to get into this popular sport, except a will to live.