Slinky

    Slinky was a widely popular toy during the mid-1940s. The simple and circular design was really attractive to many children and adults.

    Naval engineer Richard James was the inventor of the Slinky. In 1945, Richard James was trying to help the war at that time by developing an anti-vibration device for ship instruments. He accidentally knocked over some springs that were for his project and the spring seemed to “walk” across the floor. He was intrigued by the discovery he made and introduced this toy to the world in 1946 in a department store. The 400 Slinkies that were up for sale that day were gone in the first 90 minutes. This economical toy quickly became a toy sensation. About 250 million Slinkies were sold since it first came out in 1946.

    “Slinky” is a Swedish word that means stealthy, sleek and sinuous. It was named by James’s wife Betty as she tried to scan through the dictionary for a suitable name for this new-found discovery.