1943 — a spring that wouldn't sit still
Richard James was working on tension springs to protect sensitive ship equipment from rough seas. When one fell from a shelf and walked instead of landing, he saw a toy. He spent the next two years working out the right wire and the right coil.
A name from the dictionary
Betty James searched the dictionary for a word that sounded like the motion. “Slinky” — sleek and graceful — fit exactly.
1945 — ninety minutes at Gimbels
With a loan of $500 the Jameses made their first batch. At Gimbels in Philadelphia, a live demonstration on a sloped board sold 400 Slinkys in an hour and a half.
The jingle
“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound?” The television jingle became one of the longest-running in advertising and taught generations how to sing the toy's name.
Slinky Dog and friends
In the 1950s the coil grew a head, a tail and a leash. Slinky Dog later starred in Toy Story, which brought the dachshund to a whole new generation.
2000 — Hall of Fame
The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Slinky into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2000, alongside the most loved toys in America.
Today
More than 300 million Slinkys later, the brand is made by Just Play — still the Classic coil, plus Jr., Giant, plastic, rainbow, Slinky Dog and new ideas like Slinky Brickz and Scram, Squirrel.
Guide · History
The walk down history
The history of Slinky: Richard and Betty James, Gimbels 1945, the jingle, Slinky Dog, Toy Story and the National Toy Hall of Fame.
