Twitter Discovers Dr. Royal H. Burpee, The Actually Real Inventor Of Burpees

Eric Lund

Feb 12, 2022 8:00 AM EST

Dr. Burpee originally developed a simplified version of the modern burpee as a basic test for physical fitness. As it turns out, he probably wouldn't have liked its use today. The reason being it's hard on your body, especially if you don't have the physical aptitude to do them with perfect form. But the most important thing is that his name, posture and dress are, for lack of a better word, cartoonish. And instead of being hated for his invention of a difficult exercise, people were in awe of the guy.

Other than looking like a sailor from a musical, the man looks like when he shaves, sparks fly off. His shoulders are the size of shoulders you'd find on a freeway onramp and he's got rib cage the size of an abandoned Orangutan cage at the zoo.

Robert Brockway brought Dr. Burpee to the attention of Twitter and naturally, people were very ready to talk about the man who looks like he used to star in silent adult movies. You know, the kind that cost a nickel, have upbeat piano accompaniment and are interrupted every 15 seconds with a screen that just says "OOH AAHH."

Anyway it's just kinda awesome that the dude actually existed.