Method of swinging on a swing - Patent 6368227

If ever there was such, here is incontrovertable proof that the Patent system is bent beyond all credibility: Patent #6368227

I claim:

1. A method of swinging on a swing, the method comprising the steps of: a) suspending a seat for supporting a user between only two chains that are hung from a tree branch; b) positioning a user on the seat so that the user is facing a direction perpendicular to the tree branch; c) having the user pull alternately on one chain to induce movement of the user and the swing toward one side, and then on the other chain to induce movement of the user and the swing toward the other side; and d) repeating step c) to create side-to-side swinging motion, relative to the user, that is parallel to the tree branch.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is practiced independently by the user to create the side-to-side motion from an initial dead stop.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of: e) inducing a component of forward and back motion into the swinging motion, resulting in a swinging path that is generally shaped as an oval.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the magnitude of the component of forward and back motion is less than the component of side-to-side motion.

Licenses are available from the inventor upon request.

via freepatentsonline.com, on a sidebar tip from Rob Brezny

I don't know about you, but my friends and I were doing prior art on this long before not only the birth of now 17 year old 'inventor', but very likely before the birth of either of his parents or his patent lawyer. If the examiners could accept this as intellectual property, what won't they accept?