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I recently read an article on Joan Anderson, the woman who brought the hula hoop from Australia to 1950s America. She died in July at the age of 101. She and her husband pitched the idea to Wham-O, the toy company that became famous for the Frisbee. She named it the hula hoop but was never given due credit or a share in the profits. She watched as early headlines stated, “Hula hoop sales soar to $30 million in 2 months.” Joan and her husband eventually sued Wham-O but settled for a few thousand dollars.
This article made me think of the toys and games from my childhood. What a fun way to reminisce. Do that with me now regardless of your childhood era.
Let’s start with Silly Putty, Etch-a-Sketch, Lincoln logs, Play-Doh, kites and any kind of ball game for me, including stick ball and playing against the steps or stoop in New York. To continue: Chatty Cathy, Easy-Bake Oven, Rubik’s Cube, Yo-Yo, Pogo Stick, Legos (now an art form), Army men, Trolls, jacks, jump rope, roller and ice skates. And of course, Mr. Potato Head. It may interest you to know that Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on TV, has appeared in movies (“Toy Story”) and is a balloon in the Macy’s Day Parade. He was joined by Mrs. Potato Head in 1953 but is now referred to as gender neutral Potato Head. (Oh pulleeease)
Elizabeth Magie is another of those stories of women who were not given their due. She invented The Landlord’s Game. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because the game that followed was Monopoly. She applied for and received a patent in 1904. Remember this was well before women had the right to vote in America. Magie’s game was rejected by Parker Bros., so she published it herself in 1906. She was an anti-capitalist and intended her game to be a teaching tool to warn against the evils of a shady landlord. Her Landlord game was used by college professors and their students.
Monopoly made millions for its so-called creator Charles Darrow, who received his patent in 1933. Today’s game uses street names from Atlantic City, New Jersey, where Darrow learned the game from a friend. It should be noted that Darrow received help from his wife and son in the development of his Monopoly game. And that Marvin Gardens is misspelled on the Monopoly board. (Marven)
My all-time favorite to this day is the Slinky. I continue to be amazed and mesmerized by how it can go downstairs better than I can. How does it do that? The Slinky is described as a helical spring toy invented by accident by American naval engineer Richard T. James in the 1940s. No surprise: His wife, Betty, named it the Slinky and helped develop it into a toy. By 1960, Betty had taken charge of the company as Richard’s interest had waned. He left his family and joined a religious cult in Bolivia. Under Betty’s management, the company flourished. It was also used as a radio antenna in the Vietnam War.
Children of the 1990s will remember the Slinky dog. In addition to it traveling down a flight of steps, it can appear to levitate for a period of time after it has been dropped. The physical laws that govern the mechanics of a Slinky are Hooke’s law (not going there), elasticity, gravity, wave propagation and momentum. Everybody sing with me now: “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 or a boy. Everyone wants a slinky. You ought to get a slinky.”
There there now, don’t you feel better?
Jim Cross is a retired Fort Lewis College professor and basketball coach living in Durango. Reach him at cross_j@fortlewis.edu.
