Like bungee jumping, zorbing originated in New Zealand, now often considered the birthplace of extreme sports. The expression zorb was coined in the early 1990s by New Zealand scientists David and Andrew Akers and Dwayne van der Sluis, who invented the giant plastic ball and in 1994 built the first test run in the tourist town of Rotorua. Zorbing went commercial in 1998, and is now franchised all over the world.