The slinky was invented 1943 by Richard James, an engineer designing a spring to support the engines of WWII naval vessels traversing rough ocean waters. When a sample spring accidentally fell off his worktable and “walked” across the floor, he was amused and thought to himself this could be a toy. It became the hottest new toy after the war and over the years since then has had off and on success. Most recently it gained new fans from a slinky dog named “Slink” in “Toy Story”.
The slinky’s graceful flowing descent down steps is what it is best known for. Elders and campers both share a fascination with this toy. They each took turns “walking” a slinky down stacked hymn books. They enjoyed the challenge of learning the knack for launching the slinky just right to make it all the way down.
