Slinky facts for kids
A Slinky made out of metal
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| Type | Spring toy |
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| Inventor(s) |
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| Company | James Industries |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1945–present |
The Slinky is a fun toy made from a special spring shaped like a helix. It was invented by Richard T. James in the early 1940s. A Slinky can do many cool tricks. It can "walk" down stairs by stretching and reforming itself. Gravity and its own movement help it do this. It can also seem to float in the air for a moment after you drop it. These amazing features have made the Slinky very popular in the United States. It has also inspired many other toys around the world that use similar spring parts.
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History of the Slinky
The Slinky was created by a smart naval engineer named Richard T. James in 1943. It was first shown to the public at a store called Gimbels in Philadelphia in November 1945. People loved it right away!
The first Slinkys cost about $5. But sometimes people paid more because the special steel used to make them became more expensive. However, the Slinky has always been kept at a fair price. This was important to Betty James, Richard's wife. She wanted to make sure all kids could afford one.
Besides being a toy, the Slinky has been used in classrooms to teach science. It was even used as a portable radio antenna during wartime, especially in the Vietnam War. The Slinky is so famous that it was added to the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2003, it was named one of the most important toys of the 20th century. In its first 60 years, about 300 million Slinkys were sold!
How the Slinky Was Invented
In 1943, Richard T. James was a mechanical engineer for the Navy. He saw a spring fall off a shelf and "walk" down. It then landed upright. Richard's wife, Betty, remembered him saying, "I think if I got the right kind of steel, I could make it walk."
Richard spent a year trying different types of steel wire. Finally, he found a spring that would "walk" perfectly. Betty was not sure at first. But when the toy was ready, the neighborhood kids loved it!
Richard and Betty started their own company called James Industries. They began making Slinkys in Pennsylvania. Each Slinky was about 2.5 inches tall. It had 98 coils of high-quality Swedish steel. They first sold them for $1 each.
It was hard to sell Slinkys to toy stores at first. But in November 1945, they got a chance to show it at Gimbels Department Store. They set up a ramp to demonstrate how it worked. It was a huge success! All 400 Slinkys they had were sold in just 90 minutes. In 1946, the Slinky was shown at the American International Toy Fair.
Later Years of the Slinky Company
In 1960, Richard James left the company. He became a missionary in Bolivia. Betty James then took over the company. She moved it to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania in 1964. The company grew a lot under her leadership. She believed the Slinky's success came from its "simplicity."
Betty James was the president of James Industries from 1960 to 1998. She passed away in 2008 at the age of 90. In 1998, the company was sold to Poof Products, Inc. Slinky toys continued to be made in Hollidaysburg. Later, in 2012, Poof-Slinky, Inc. was bought by Propel Equity Partners. In 2014, Slinky became part of a bigger toy company called Alex Brands™. In 2020, the Slinky brand was sold to Just Play.
How the Slinky Works
When a Slinky moves, it uses simple physics rules. These rules explain how springs work and how gravity affects things.
Walking Down Stairs
When you put a Slinky on a staircase, it moves energy along its coils. The whole spring goes down step by step, end over end. It looks like it is "walking" down the stairs.
The Floating Trick
If you hold a Slinky by the top and drop it, the bottom part seems to hang still for a moment. This happens because the change in tension needs time to travel down the spring. The top part starts to fall, but the bottom part stays in place at first. This makes the spring squeeze together. This "floating" time is very short, about 0.3 seconds for a regular Slinky.
Slinky in Pop Culture
The Slinky Jingle
The famous Slinky television commercial song was made in 1962. It became one of the longest-running jingles in advertising history! Many movies and TV shows have used or made fun of this jingle. You might have heard it in The Ren & Stimpy Show or sung by Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.
Slinky Dog
Early on, a woman named Helen Herrick Malsed sent ideas to James Industries. She suggested making Slinky pull-toys. The company liked her ideas! Soon, the Slinky Dog and Slinky Train were added to their products. The Slinky Dog first appeared in 1952. It was a small plastic dog with a metal Slinky connecting its front and back parts.
In 1995, the Slinky Dog was redesigned for the Toy Story movies by Pixar. James Industries had stopped making their Slinky Dog a few years before. Betty James liked the new design. She told the press, "The earlier Slinky Dog wasn't nearly as cute as this one."
Plastic Slinky
Today, you can also find Slinkys made of plastic. They come in many different colors, often in rainbow order. These plastic Slinkys became popular in the 1970s. They were seen as a safer choice than metal Slinkys. This was because metal Slinkys could be dangerous if put into electrical outlets.
The plastic Slinky was invented by Donald James Reum Sr. He first thought of the idea while trying to make a spiral hose for watering plants. But when it came off the machine, it looked like a Slinky! He worked on it until it was perfect. Then he showed his idea to Betty James. Reum made plastic Slinkys for Betty James for several years. Later, James Industries decided to make the plastic Slinky themselves.
Awards and Special Recognitions
The Slinky has received many awards and honors:
- In 1999, the United States Postal Service made a Slinky postage stamp.
- In 2000, the Slinky was added to the National Toy Hall of Fame.
- In 2001, Betty James was added to the Toy Industry Association's Hall of Fame.
- In 2003, the Slinky was named one of the "Century of Toys List." This list includes the 100 most memorable and creative toys of the 20th century.
Other Ways to Use a Slinky
Slinkys and similar springs can be used for more than just playing!
- Laser Gun Sound: You can make a "laser gun" sound effect. Hold a Slinky in the air and hit one end. It makes a metallic sound that quickly gets lower in pitch. You can make the sound even louder by attaching a plastic cup to one end.
- Musical Instrument: A composer named Sonia Paço-Rocchia created a musical instrument called the Helixophone. It is made with a Slinky and a special sound box.
- Radio Antenna: Metal Slinkys can be used as a radio antenna. During the Vietnam War, soldiers used them as portable antennas for short-range radio communication. They were easy to set up and worked well.
- In Space: In 1985, astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery made a video. They showed how toys like the Slinky behaved in space where there is no gravity. The Slinky just "drooped" instead of walking! This video helped teach kids about physics and weightlessness.
- Squirrel Deterrent: Some people put a Slinky on bird feeder poles. This helps stop squirrels from climbing up and eating the bird food!
See also
In Spanish: Slinky para niños
