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Slinky-The Spring that Captured the Hearts of MillionsNEW YORK-- How do you turn a simple cold-rolled steel torsion spring into a best-selling toy with more than 250 million sold world-wide? Simply add the imagination of an engineer and the endless ability of children to be amazed and amused by the simplest things. The result-the "Slinky"-which this year celebrated its 51st anniversary. The Slinky was the brainchild of mechanical engineer Richard James, a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University. In 1943, while working at a Philadelphia shipyard, James observed a torsion spring bounce off a ship's deck. He foresaw its potential as a children's toy-if he could find the right steel at the right tension. A year later, he succeeded, and the first Slinky, named by his wife Betty, was created. Since the toy didn't look like much all coiled up, stores were initially reluctant to stock it. In 1945, however, James convinced Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia to give him one end of a counter to demonstrate the toy. It was an instant success, and has been delighting children of all ages ever since, including Jim Carrey in the recent movie, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Betty James explained the toy's success
as: "It's the simplicity. There are no batteries, no wind up. And, they are
reasonably priced. There's something magic about a Slinky. It sort of comes alive,"
she said. Indeed, generations of kids have been fascinated by a spring that walks down
stairs and slithers from hand to hand. And, adults have rediscovered the toy as a stress
reducer. Today, the Slinky is the flagship product of James Industries, Inc., headed since
1960 by Betty James, and headquartered in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. There have been
some variations in the product over the years-the Slinky Junior in 1948, the Slinky Dog in
1955 (featured in Disney's, National Engineers Week celebrates the achievements of engineers-like James-who have made a difference in our work-and play. ### [_private/boilerplate.html]
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Toy
Story), and since 1979, the plastic Slinky-but the basic Slinky has remained
unchanged. Between three and four million of the ingeniously simple springs are sold each
year for about two dollars each. It remains a part of Americana, on permament display in
the Smithsonian Institutution. 
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National Engineers Week Foundation
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