By: Aaron Sayers
Summary Creation Name Debut Bad Times Types of Slinkys Other Milestones
Creation The slinky was created in 1943 when a marine engineer Richard James dropped a torsion spring tester off his desk and it tumbled end over end. Told his wife with a few changes the spring could be a successful toy, so he changes the steel formula so the spring seemed to almost “walk”.
Name Richard and his wife Betty spend combing through dictionaries for a word that fit the action and look of the toy. Betty came across the name slinky which means “stealthy, sleek, and sinuous”. Both agreed the name was perfect for the toy, and soon after with a $500 loan began production on the toy.
Debut Richard along with his wife began selling the slinkys in small retail outlets. The problem with this was with no name recognition the toy sold little to none worrying Richard that his investment was a failure. Around Christmas of 1944 Gimbels Department Store agreed to allow for some counter space for around 400 slinkys.
Debut (continued) Richard arrived before Betty to play with the toy and provide examples to get customers to buy. In around an hour when Betty arrived there was a line of people holding money encircling the slinky counter. Soon after with a name backing it the toy had large sales and Richard along with his wife were rich.
Bad Times Around 1960 suffering from a midlife crisis Richard left his children and wife to join a Bolivian Religious cult. Betty took over as CEO, and moved the company from outlying Philadelphia to its current location in Hollidaysburg. Around this time debuted the famous slinky jingle. In 1974 Richard Died.
Types of Slinkys Slinky Jr. Plastic Slinkys Slinky Dog Slinky Pets Crazy Eyes Neon Slinky
Other Milestones The Discovery/History channels published the slinky among the top ten toys of all time. The National Mail service in 1999 honored the slinky on a stamp. The slinky participated during a NASA space mission. Over 300 million slinkys have been sold since its production in 1944
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