Many of us have fond childhood memories of our first Slinky. We walked them down ramps, stairs and our school desktops, or just about anything that could remotely show off it's "magical" abilities. Being a huge fan of desk toys today, I have still have a mini-Slinky sitting on my desk. It's quite therapeutic at times and even comforting when I'm working through problems.
In 1943 Marine Engineer Richard James invented the Slinky after a tension spring from a meter he was using to test battleship horsepower fell off his desk and "walked" end-over-end across his office floor. Two years later the first 400 went one sale just before Christmas and they've been a huge retail item ever since.
In this month's Reader's Digest ("An Immortal Coil," November, 2005) it was written, "...here's to hoping this American classic springs eternal." Happy 60th Birthday Slinky!
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