Who invented the slinky?

Answer 1

The inventor of the slinky is Richard James, who had help from his wife, Betty James. Richard James was an engineer employed by the Navy. In 1943, while working on anti-vibration technology, a torsion spring fell of the table. The movement of the spring caught his eye, and the idea for the Slinky was born. He told Betty, "I think I can make a toy out of this." Betty searched for the perfect name, she found it in the dictionary - Slinky: graceful, sinuous, and sleek. In 1945, after years of working to find the right balance of metals for the spring and engineering the equipment to produce it, Richard and Betty took 200 Slinkies to Gimbel's Department store in Philadelphia. Worried that the toy might not catch on, Betty convinced a friend to buy the first one. They had no need to worry. Slinkies were a giant hit. They sold all 400 slinkies in 90 minutes.

Richard and Betty James then founded the James Spring and Wire Company, which later became James Industries. In 1948, the opened a factory in Philadelphia, to manufacture their toy. For a while, both the business and the James family enjoyed success. However, in the 1960s, Richard James experienced a "religious awakening" and joined a Bolivian cult. He donated his wealth to his newly found religion, bankrupted his company, and left his wife and six children, including an infant for Bolivia. He told Betty that she could either run the company or sell it; he didn't care. Faced with the difficult challenge of becoming the breadwinner of a large family during a time that women were expected to remain at home and care for the children, Betty James took the helm of James Industries as its CEO. Through strength, intelligence, hard work, and sheer willpower, Betty James rescued the company and the Slinky from ruin. She relocated her family and company from Philadelphia to her hometown of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.

Under the care of Betty James, the Slinky was revitalized. Betty began an advertising campaign with the famous jingle, "It's a Slinky. It's a Slinky. Fun for a girl or a boy." But she didn't stop there. Betty James expanded the Slinky family by inventing new toys, which include Crazy Eyes, Slinky Jr., and Slinky Pets, including the ever memorable Slinky Dog, who was featured in the films Toy Story and Toy Story 2. In 2001, Betty James became the second woman to be inducted in the the Toy Hall of Fame.