Slinky

The Slinky—the popular springy wire toy—was invented in 1943 by engineer Richard James (1914–1974) while he was working on an antivibration device for ships' instruments. James was fascinated by the way one of the springs he had made "walked" down to the ground when he accidentally knocked it off a shelf. He took it home to show his wife, Betty (1918–), and together they promoted it as a toy. The Slinky first went on sale at Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just before Christmas 1945. Much to their surprise, the Jameses sold their entire stock of 400 Slinkys in just 90 minutes. At its fiftieth anniversary, over 250 million Slinkys had been sold. In 2002, it also comes in brightly colored plastic and, for $99.95, fourteen carat gold.

The simplicity of the Slinky, and the strange way it walks down steps and slopes, is what attracts children and adults to the toy. The Slinky is almost unchanged from the way the Jameses first promoted it. The metal version has had just one change in over fifty years: The sharp ends of the spring have been blunted for safety reasons. Although it looks simple, the Slinky depends on some serious science. In education, Slinkys are used to explain different kinds of wave forms, as well as forces such as gravity, friction, and inertia. Slinkys also have practical uses. As soldiers in Vietnam discovered, Slinkys make very good radio antennae. A Slinky bent over in the form of an arch makes an excellent letter rack.

The "It's Slinky" jingle—"It's Slinky, it's Slinky, for fun it's a wonderful toy. . ."—is America's longest-running national television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) commercial, running since 1963. The Slinky has appeared prominently in several movies, including Hairspray (1988), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), and most memorably as Slinky Dog in Toy Story (1995). The antivibration device James had been working when he invented the Slinky was a complete flop. But his accidental creation went on to become one of the best-selling toys in America. With its graceful movements and "slinkety" sound, the Slinky has played a part in the childhood of most Americans born since the end of World War II (1939–45).

—Chris Routledge

For More Information

Green, Joey. The Official Slinky Book: Hundreds of Wild and Wacky Uses for the Greatest Toy on Earth. New York: Berkley Publishing, 1999.

"Slinky History." Slinky Toys.http://www.slinkytoys.com/toys/history.asp (accessed February 21, 2002).

Weiss, Michael J. "Zing Went the Spring. . ." Toys Were Us.http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/toys/SLINKY/shoulda.html (accessed February 21, 2002).