It's Slinky! It's Slinky!

steve | 12:37 am | September 16, 2007 | Christmas Gifts, Gifts for Daughters, Gifts for Nieces, Toys, Gifts for Sons, Gifts for Nephews

In 1943, a naval engineer named Richard James, stationed at the Naval shipyards in Philadelphia, was working on an instrument for the Navy to use on battleships. A spring he was using fell to the ground, and he noticed it kept moving. He told his wife Betty, “I think I can make a toy out of this.”

 In 1945, The Slinky debuted at Gimbel’s Department Store in Philadelphia. After a 90 minute demonstration, all 400 Slinkys sold out immediately. James started a company to produce Slinkys in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Betty James was instrumental in making the company the success it became, including introducing an ad jingle most of us know and love:

“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky…
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, for fun it’s a wonderful toy!
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, it’s fun for a girl and a boy!

The Slinky has a storied history. University Physics departments use it to explain wave motion and seismology. In Vietnam it was used as antennae for radio transmitters. In 2001, the Slinky was named the official toy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Betty James was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame that same year. The rhythmic sound and feeling of transfering it from hand to hand even makes a great desk accessory for grown-ups (a better way to reduce stress and pass the time than any squeeze ball).

And of course, anywhere there is a kid and a staircase, it is unthinkable not to have a Slinky there too.

In 2005, the Slinky turned 60 years old. Hearthsong, in its Classic Toys collection, has two very special limited edition versions of the Slinky to celebrate. First, the original Slinky, in a replica box of the very first Slinky in the 1940’s. Second, a “bona fido” (shame on you, Hearthsong catalog writers!) replica of the first Slinky Dog.

In the last 60 years, over a quarter billion Slinkys have been sold. I accounted for about 9 of them throughout the 1970s and 1980s, four lost and five tangled beyond repair after countless trips down (and up!) the stairs. I’m all grown up now, but now that I realize that Hearthsong sells it I do plan to go for #10 as soon as I finish writing this.