A Classic Toy, By Accident

With the popularity of Internet shopping, classic toysAround 1960, Richard James suffered what some
that were hard to find, have now started to find acalled a mid-life crisis and left his wife, their six children
whole new audience. These classics, which sold veryand joined a Bolivian religious cult. He also deserted the
well after they were introduced, never seem to go outSlinky toy he worked so hard to produce and left the
of style and can still bring a smile to any child?s face.company in debt and ruin. Betty James took over as
Let?s step into the past and take a look into theCEO of James Industries and introduced other toys
history of one of these classic toys.for the ?Slinky line-up? including: Slinky pets, crazy
In 1943, a Naval engineer accidentally knocked someeyes Slinky (glasses with Slinky-extended fake
springs off of a shelf while he was working on aeyeballs), neon Slinky, and also replaced the original
meter designed to monitor horsepower on battleships.black-blue Swedish steel with American steel.
He marveled at the way they ?walked? instead ofAdditionally she moved the company headquarters
falling and the odd movement of these springs gavefrom Philadelphia to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania and
Richard James an idea and an instant toy was born.began an aggressive advertising campaign, complete
That toy: The Slinky.with the now famous Slinky jingle:
Richard James then spent the next two years testing?What walks down stairs, alone in pairs, And makes a
and refining the best steel gauge and coil to utilize forSlinkity sound?
his new toy. His wife, Betty appropriately found theA spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows
perfect name for this new toy- a Slinky; which is theit?s Slinky?
Swedish word meaning traespiral or sleek.It?s Slinky, it?s Slinky, for fun it?s a wonderful toy
The couple borrowed five hundred dollars and JamesIt?s Slinky, it?s Slinky, it?s fun for a girl or a boy?
designed a machine to coil eighty feet of wire into aHowever, the Slinky is not just an entertaining toy for
two-inch spiral and manufacture their new toy. Saleschildren. It is used in schools in physics classes to
were slow at first, but soared after the Slinky wasdemonstrate wave properties, forces, and energy
demonstrated at Gimbel?s Department Store instates. The Slinky still continues to sell (250 million have
Philadelphia for the Christmas season in 1945. The firstbeen sold to date) and are still manufactured in
400 sold within the ninety-minute demonstration and aHollidaysburg, Pennsylvania using the original equipment
new fad had begun.designed by Richard James.