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Slinky: Vintage toy collectible invented accidentally
Talk about a fun collectible stories: The lowly, vintage slinky toys many of us grew up playing were invented accidentally by an engineer working on equipment for U.S. naval battleships during World War II! (You can find some great deals on vintage slinky toys at eBay.)
According to the story, engineer Richard James was reaching for some parts and accidentally knocked a pile of springs off of a shelf. When the springs sort of "walked" down to a stop rather than just, uh, springing all over, James was captivated by the cascading spring motions. To make a long story short, James and his wife, Betty, experimented with springs made from a variety of steel and in a variety of shapes before arriving at what Betty named the "Slinky."
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The James' company began cranking out Slinkys, but didn't really experience a breakthrough until the toy was demonstrated for Christmas shoppers at the Philadelphia Gimbel's Department store in 1945. Since then the little toy has stolen the hearts and preoccupied minds of generations of toy fans and toy collectors. They're just plan fun to fool around with, whether juggling Slinky hand-to-hand or "walking" Slinky down a staircase. (For a long time, I had a plastic Slinky setting on my desk to play with during periods of "deep thought" and business planning.)
Although the James are both deceased and the company has been sold to a larger toy manufacturer, Slinky maintains it's charm and the original design is still selling. More than 300 million Slinky toys have been sold since its invention.
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