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Comment by supermatt | Hacker News Reader

In the UK, what the article keeps calling "monkey bars" we call a "climbing frame" (a "jungle gym" in the USA). What we call "monkey bars" are specifically the horizontal ladder you traverse by swinging and hanging from arm to arm.

Wikipedia suggests that it is an australian thing to call the whole frame monkey bars, yet I understood the smithsonian is a US institution?

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Grew up in the USA. I agree with your definition of monkey bars as the horizontal ladder you traverse using your hands to grip and swing to the next.

Same (New England, if US regions matter).

Also, I haven't seen a new piece of classical metal jungle gym installed in a while. New climbing structures here are either geodesic rope contraptions or elaborate monkey bars. I think it's following the trend of aggressive risk reduction in playgrounds as the ropes probably absorb falls better.

On new-ish playgrounds, the “ropes” are a sheathed in fiber/nylon, but there is typically steel cable in the center to reduce stretching (stretching being a common safety issue for various reasons). I learned this after making a poorly considered leap playing with my son and scraping the ever living hell out of my shins/causing a bone bruise. The sheath also increases grip relative to (painted) steel bars.

North east US. We called the horizontal ladder monkey bars, and the bigger metal climbing apparatus jungle gyms.

Same in Canada

I was in elementary school in Detroit (a city in the US) during the 1950's and the only name I ever heard used for that ubiquitous playground device was "monkey bars". I really enjoyed them as a kid.

Definitely an Australian thing. They used to be everywhere. RIP.

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