Sherman Poppen attached two skis together in Muskegon, Mich., in 1965. His wife christened it the Snurfer and the kids loved it. He may have been inspired by a sled-like device made of plywood that first appeared in the 1920s. Poppen may have made the first snowboard; many say that he did. He certainly took a step in the evolution of snowboards. Dutch native Dimitrije Milovich, who slid down the hills of Ithaca, N.Y., on trays from the Cornell cafeteria, also seems to have strong claim on the first actual snowboard.