SLINKY

SLINKY
SLINKING INTO HISTORY
SLINKY DEBUT
SLINKY HOME
SPRING INTO ACTION
SLINKY SONG
ZOO SLINKY
WORLD'S GREATEST SLINKY
A SLINKY KIND OF LOVE
HONORARY SLINKY
GOLD-PLATED SLINKY
BLAMMO!

SLINKY
Who didn't have a Slinky when they were a kid? I mean, come on. If you didn't have one, surely you played with one. No matter, Slinkys (or is it Slinkies? Either way, my spell check baulks at the idea) are part of modern Americana. Our hats are off to the dancing, walking spring.

SLINKING INTO HISTORY
How, where, when, why? The Slinky has a story. The year was 1943, smack in the middle of global war number 2, sat Richard James. He was an engineer and hard at work developing a spring system to keep sensitive ship-board instruments study while at sea. He accidentally knocked some of his experimental springs off a shelf and was amused how they "walked" rather than just fell.

SLINKY DEBUT
The first Slinky was demonstrated at Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia, less than 90 minutes later all 400 Slinkys on hand were sold. More than 250 million have been sold as of this year.

SLINKY HOME
Slinkys were originally marketed in 1945 and manufactured in Philadelphia, a fitting home for an American icon. I wonder has the Slinky made it down those famous steps in Philadelphia, you know, the ones that Rocky ran up and down.

SPRING INTO ACTION
To manufacture his new creation, Richard James designed and engineered machines to transform 80 feet of wire into a 2 1/2 inch tall stack of 98 coils. Boom, he had a Slinky making machine. Today, the Hollidaysburg, PA based factory churns out 3 million to 4 million Slinkys a year. Mrs. James, who came up with the name "Slinky" has been chief executive officer since 1960.

SLINKY SONG
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,
it's fun, it's a wonderful toy.
It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun,
It's a wonderful toy.
It's fun for a girl or a boy.

Well that's one version of the Slinky song. Here are
the original lyrics:

Who walks the stairs without a care
It shoots so high in the sky.
Bounce up and down just like a clown.
Everyone knows its Slinky.

The best present yet to give or get
The kids will all want to try.
The hit of the day when you are ready to play
Everyone knows it's Slinky.

It's Slinky, It's Slinky
for fun the best of the toys
It's Slinky, It's Slinky
the favorite of girls and boys.

You might prefer the Ren & Stimpy knock-off version, dubbed "Log". For your enjoyment, those lyrics are added at the bottom of this text.

ZOO SLINKY
During the late 90's and early OO's, Slinky got in on the Beanie Baby craze by creating their own zoo full of plushy toys craftily incorporated with a fuzz slinky, aptly dubbed - Slinky Pets. You can get anywhere from a Slinky Flamingo to a Slinky Triceratops.

WORLD'S GREATEST SLINKY
Greatest? Perhaps, but we are betting it is the world's longest. It's in Australia, you can see it in action with this link - http://www.firstpr.com.au/slinky/

A SLINKY KIND OF LOVE
Some people even objectify their beloved Slinky, such as in this Rochester, New York True Story where a red plastic slinky comes to symbolize the human spirit As the author puts it, "I've personally have never been to Europe, but my Slinky has been there three times. I went to Disney World when I was seven years old, my slinky was there as recently as March. I fully intend to ski the Rocky Mountains one day, my slinky has already beat me there. Am I jealous? You bet I am." http://home.rochester.rr.com/satw/index.html

HONORARY SLINKY
In 1999, Slinky became one of the very first toys to be officially honored by being pictured on an official United States Postage Stamp.

SLINKY GUTS
The first Slinkys (that problem again..is it Slinkies?) were originally manufactured from an expensive, dark steel from Sweden. Before long, they were switched to a more silver-looking steel and then by the 1960's, they were given a coating to make them even more silvery and shiny. Since late 1978, the Slinky has also been made of K-Resin plastic. It's a styrene-butadiene copolymer from Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.

GOLD-PLATED SLINKY
What to get for that truly Slinky fanatic? How about a gold plated Slinky! Don't laugh, they really sell these and people really buy them. If that seems a bit much, what better than a Slinky t-shirt from www.t-shirtking.com With a T-Shirt King Slinky t-shirt, you can have the Slinky you can take anywhere.

BLAMMO!

The Ren & Stimpy Show had a parody of the Slinky song

"What rolls down stairs alone or in pairs
rolls over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack and fits on your back?
It's Log, Log, Log!

It's Log, Log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's Log, Log, it's better than bad, it's good!
Everyone wants a log! You're gonna love it, Log!
Come on and get your log! Everyone needs a Log!"