Slinky

A Slinky, or "Lazy-Spring," is a coil-shaped toy, invented by mechanical engineer Richard James in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. more...

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Slinkys come in various sizes, but are usually no larger than a grown adult's fist when compressed. The shape is a simple helix, or coil design, of a ribbon of material, originally metal. The Slinky can "walk" down stairs as the coils stretch and reform as gravity moves them down each step.

History

In the 1940s, Richard James, a US$50-a-week marine engineer stationed at the Cramp shipyards in Philadelphia, observed a torsion spring fall off a table and roll around on the deck (a torsion spring has no compression or tension). He told his wife: "I think there could be a toy in this." With a US$500 loan, the couple ran tests, experimented with materials, and produced four hundred units of the toy. Betty James did some dictionary searching and came up with the name "Slinky".

In November 1945, Richard and Betty James, through an arrangement with Gimbels in Philadelphia, were granted permission to set up an inclined plane in the toy department and demonstrate the spring's battery-less "walking" abilities. The James' business grew rapidly. In 1948 they built a factory for twenty employees in suburban Philadelphia, and a decade later, headquarters were set up in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where the factory remained for thirty years. As the company expanded, so did the product line. New Slinky toys, including Slinky Jr. and the Slinky Dog, were developed while non-coiled toys such as building kits were added to the inventory. However, Slinky has remained the core product of James Industries.

Commercials for the Slinky featured the memorable jingle: "It's Slinky, it's Slinky, for fun it's a wonderful toy. It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun for a girl and a boy.".

Slinky science

Besides being a toy, the Slinky can be used to help explain scientific concepts. By moving the end of a stretched Slinky side to side or back and forth, transverse or longitudinal wave motion can demonstrated.

Engineering uses

See also: Slinky seismology

One or (sometimes) two Slinkys used together can be used as the basis of a shortwave radio antenna. Amateur radio operators have even used them as transmitting antennas. More commonly, they can be used to demonstrate certain physical phenomena by analogy. For example, by bunching then releasing the coils at one end, a compression wave can be simulated.

Popular culture

There is a Slinky computer game that was published by Cosmi in 1984 for the Commodore 64.; In the 1989 comedy film Ghostbusters II, Harold Ramis' Egon character claims that, as a child, his family had "part of a Slinky," but he straightened it.; In the 1995 comedy film Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura character tumbles a Slinky down the massive staircase of a Tibetan monastery. It comes to a rest one stair short of its goal.; Slinky Dog was a character in Toy Story (1995). The toy was a Slinky with the front and hind of a dog on either end.; The history of the Slinky and its cultural offshoots has been chronicled in Lou Harry's book/kit It's Slinky (Running Press).; In the "Bendless Love" episode of Futurama, a Slinky belonging to Dr. Zoidberg gets straightened as a result of Bender's sleepbending. After attempting to restore the original shape of the Slinky, Dr. Zoidberg tumbles it over a short row of books, only for it to inexplicably burst into flames afterwards.; A timeline of (supposedly) important dates in the humor book, Bart Simpson's Guide to Life indicates 1945 as the year of Slinky's invention and 1946 as the year tangled Slinkys drove the World insane.; The music video for the single "My Happiness", by Powderfinger, features an anthropomorphic Slinky attempting to return to its owner.; The Christian band Lost and Found uses a Slinky in their music as a percussion instrument. The most popular song involving a Slinky is called "Lions" in which fans shout "Slinky" in a space in the song while the slinky is played.; In the film Lords of Dogtown, Jay Adams is asked to be the voice of a Slinky commercial.; The animated television series Ren and Stimpy parodied old Slinky commercials, with its "Log" product.; Eddie Murphy ended his 1987 stand-up performance "Eddie Murphy Raw" with singing the Slinky jingle.; Billy Joel used a Slinky in his music video, "We Didn't Start the Fire".; In an episode of The Simpsons, Milhouse uses a slinky at a science fair. He tumbles it down an inclined piece of wood only to have it tumble once, prompting a sarcastic remark from Mrs. Krebapple.; Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theater 3000 has arms that are made from mini Slinkys.; Popular Canadian electronic band, Kinder Atom, recorded and released the song "SLINKY" which was was used by Nissan Motors, Inc. for its 2000 model-year launch campaign.;

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