It has been called a "glorified spring", but Slinky is one of the best selling toys of all time. From accidental origins to an unlikely resurrection, Slinky has a pretty great back story. Learn all about it in this classic episode.
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Limitations apply everybody. This is charles, w chuck bryant. It is Saturday
That means it's time for my weekly selects episode pic. I went through the archives and I found this Jim from April fourteen twenty fifteen, how slinky works a big fan of our classic toys episode, and this is one of them and they
think about a slinky everyone. Is it spans generations issues something about this done little toy?
kids enjoyed for decades, including my own daughter, who has her own slinky and loves it so
one. Please listen right now to how slinky works. That's linkages, slinky
welcome to stop. You should know the production of iheart radio. Are you invoking the broadcast on Josh quarters, charles the beach of bright and
hysteria over there and this step we should know projecting from studio one a just us, not us on stage in front of hundreds of adoring fans, and I feel a list with you just go back from our tour and dumb. Just as there is a paper ikea lamp of a dimmer that makes a turn into his grow blight. Even though, is not opposed to it.
it's a tool box over there. That's it! It's a lot more fun to do this on stage in front of people it turns out. I think we should do it again, because the west coast tour was pretty fun
so keep your eyes peeled, perhaps philip
They see new york in Boston, don't literally peel your eyes them, perhaps chapel hill,
oh, really can announce anything yet, but where does teasing with those cities that will be an indian yeah
we actually going to providence, but now just kidding
what do people in providence gone? Yeah man- I gotta, go to pass them again.
So how are you doing you still jet lag
I have recovered somewhat. I have to say that the city of seattle, the place I could live, it's beautiful, except for the weather,
like we had a good and it's easy to fall in love with a place and therefore like a great weekend right, because those
Whenever this out is gorgeous said, I told Emily she was all fired up to it's out.
and months of the year. It's pretty depressing here with whether bleak and I think you're disuse due to feel about there.
As you know, your hearty everybody seemed to have their spirits up, though maybe it was the weather I assumed it was because we were in town, but now that I think about it. It could definitely been the weather or portland fans stood in line in the rain, and I felt all bad but sounds like they'd stand in line for in the rained all the time for everything gas donuts. What have you yeah, yeah anyway,
thanks everyone who came out it was so so, yes allay services
the portland seattle from both of us from jerry too near from everybody, a heartfelt hardy.
jerry was irregular, hot shot with ws
so I chuck yes,
Did you ever have a slinky when you were a kid sure, I feel like I,
I eat with them. I definitely play with them. I don't remember, actually owning a slinky at any point you at least years it was. It was just kind of one of those things I was like always around. There was always a slinky. You could get your hands on a slinky that you don't remember getting a slinky right in saying this is my slinky or going to the toy store and saying like. I want a slinky right, but I did
slinky. Whenever I play with their,
it turns out. I was just one of many many children over the last.
sixteen seventy years that have love slinky
I was frustrated by my slinky a bit because I never well. I never had.
Stairs that at work well on
You know you gonna die right. There never had still like email but you're frustrated slinky. Now I had stairs go into my room, but it was you know if you
I have the right height in there
The stair s stops here,
I gotta do it again, where they for like really long feet where they wide stairs or where they really taller. What was the do? I don't know I felt like I felt like there are standard stairs
and then it just didn't like them. Well, it would get all had the metal ones that would get all you know how they would tend to get tangled yeah. That was
were the hallmark of the metal slinky and again, like people's health,
get caught in it, and now that I'm an adult looking back, I'm like how did anybody's hair get caught in the slinky was the deal, but when it happened it hurt. I think kids would
like wraps winkies around each other memories and slinky, like as rope like handcuffs,
like you'd rapid around your friend and then sorted just latchet and
men and slinky are like attaching a knife to one in like yeah,
but you haven't. You tried to comfort. That was when there's this guy on youtube, while too
youtube too. Video of a guy called slinky master, oh boy, and he is good he's just like basically like moving from one hand to another making. It do all this awesome stuff in the middle and it's a rainbow slinky and I think it might be like glow in the dark to holy cow. But he is a pretty good. I say: go check it out and get it deafening want to check
oh, and actually we have a new thing on our website on our podcast pages. So like the page where you can go, listen to any podcast, honor
site.
There is now a like it. It additional links section
It has stuff that we talk about it links
at the articles that we use for extra research, yeah there'll be on the slinky episode, podcast page a link to that slinky master? Oh, you don't even need to google that you just basically make stuff. You should know your home page and we can take care of it for you yeah and we're bringing back transcriptions right yup, which
your super happy about because we used to have transcriptions for our.
friends in the deafened hard of hearing community in then we didn't
but for while they were like what gives works, and so we,
working to get those back and think they're gonna be back now. Yet so that's that's linkages
goodnight away, we didn't start yet so am I had no idea was watching people get their hair cotton slinky, sir plain
with them in general that they had a kind of a pretty
history. Until I ran across this article from price, not mix written by a dude named zachary, Crockett yeah, big thanks.
This is a good article. It is, and it's called the invention of the slinky and in it crockett starts at a pretty reasonable place.
the birth of the inventor slinky richard thompson, James rick James.
This link. I don't think you at my rick.
No, he went by Mr James right inventors thinking
Yes, he was born in nineteen fourteen in delaware.
An apparent
His brother samuel said that he was always a pretty enterprising, mechanically oriented type, a kid.
Because he had this one story about when he was like thirteen. He found an old car and litter.
like fix the car up well enough to sell it yeah heaven
mice running around living at any soul,
there are twenty five bucks, which I would
to west egg and converted that three hundred,
It is seven dollars in two thousand and fourteen money, not bad for a thirteen year old, no way, that's yeah, but it was a car like whoever
but it got a good deal with asserting, but I mean
he probably didn't get rid of the mighty discount the thing to run again, it was it was in his car anyway, he does took it in fact. Links it up. Here,
it was them might his car. So
nineteen thirty is he went to pin state and did
mechanical engineering, yet he was just a tinkerer, so it made a lot of sense,
that often, when people like you, research, the people who invented like a circuit board for an
amp or something it seems like. That starts when you're very, very young right just interest in that kind of thing. Yeah we don't get into mechanical engineering in your twenties now you know like he ditch
Psychology for a mechanical engineering degree, yet my brother
went the other way using aerospace engineering, major any switch to psychology. Did he really?
I didn't know that yeah he wanted to be a astronaut. Oh, it's awesome, but not like a six year old. He was like. Do don't want to be an astronaut, but he went to be a cow
you can't believe you're gonna have to actually be cowboy
So anyway, he got a mechanical engineering degree and then started work as a naval engineer, yeah cause it makes sense. It was world war two. So that's what you did yeah. He had to go fight hitler
so he did. He fought from behind a desk. Is there like your mechanical engineer? You just sit
forgot how you can make our weapons of war better exactly, and he was actually working on something that you springs, something that basically kept
some sort of electronics on battleships. I think
had to do with the measuring horse power. He s a horse power meter that I guess, if you're in rough waves, it would mess with the meter Yang. You do my rock and all over the place and you would use springs to keep it intact. Her keep it from moving around to my train, yet
so while hears tinkering around with, why does he quite by accident knocked over some stuff? I don't think it was in a fit of rage and that it was accidental here and one of the things he knocked over included a spring any. He watched the spring
Fall off the shelf in a nice graceful arc book go
from the book under the desk and then from the desk onto the floor in this nice are
arching manner in here
he said: let's try that again. Yeah apparently
Captivated by its pretty neat like this is literally one of those toys you can trace back to when those silly fluke moments like the microwave.
the same thing he was yet in what ways it again there was a
Oh man, I can't remember what the actual the actual thing that makes their micro, the microwave yeah, was discovered by accident. That applies exacerbate these beer, that it had these properties that
A guy had a chocolate bar in his shirt, proud that I spent in a melted analyses. I wait a minute so, of course, illogically. I grab some pop currents of that happening in the microwave is born yeah. I think it's link
is actually the only place it's on. Our website is one of those are trapped in accidental, invent matters,
I'll bet microwaves are there to ensure this.
So, basically you write. The light bulb went off over his head and he went home and told his lovely wife betty betty Betty. I think I've got something here.
This need to figure out how to make it to where it keeps doing. This thing a going.
I can just get any spring and throw it on a step know you can there's all sorts of different kinds of springs. It turns out. You know, like there's a tension spring sure that they use a mouse traps yeah and then there's the slinky spring yeah, but no the slinky spring is this super refined type of spring.
It was designed over the course of a year.
Through trial and error, to have just the right tension, just the right
keep just the right size of the coils, just the right everything so that it really accentuated that graceful flow that arking flow, that it it it. It has
yeah makes it the slinky and it took
like a year of tinkering with all these different tensions and types of materials before he finally hit upon it, yeah, and I think he settled on a point: zero, five, seven, five inches in diameter high card
steel?
the original slinky were black metal.
this kind of cool, but by the time like we were kids I'd, think they just dumb
the shiny silver you ones and then, of course, we get to the plastic that came along later due
if persons are or black- and it demonstrates property
is excluded hooks law. So I ran across this like super hard core physics forum where yet
he posted that they were talking about? The physics of slinking somebody's like soup, like cooks, law as a good place to start, and they got
piled, I really they said there. Hooks law has to do with the amount of force a spring exerts on something it's attach too. So I think with hooks
if it does apply well you're,
looking about is the force being transferred from one end of the slinky to the other, and that, as the
as the momentum at the front of the slinky goes down
yeah that same amount is transferred to the back in its pulled forward and it is kept going and over, and so I dont know if folks le does apply or not, but if it does, that
understanding of how it would apply yet one definition I saw was that it basically means spring will return to it
regional shape once the load is removed, so that makes sense yeah right, but there's
other thing at least one other thing going on with the slinky, and that is that it
goes along a longitudinal wave, so
like a sound wave right. Basically, slinky is a sound waves, slowed down where the same
type of wave and yes as a sound way and it slowed down and
As this link is moving on
like level molecule the molecules, pushing the ones in front of it forward and then the whole
starts over again, once it reaches equilibrium. That sounds like a great explanation.
Yes, no that's! Alright, it avoids equilibrium once it hits equilibrium. It stops. Oh okay, yeah, but the whole thing starts with the sink just sitting there at the top of the step and what it has. There is potential energy stored. Yeah. You gotta move it to get that kinetic energy going yeah when I was
I just remember staring at it. Dudes like not do nothing. This is where slinky energy s p episodes collide. Has that your decision
during its thank you willing to move gotcha. Alright,
it. So he comes up with a little slinky. It works like a charm, his little prototype
he does the smart thing, which is, if you want to find out, if kids actually are
enjoy it. He gathered the neighbourhood together
and came to some
ids they went nuts. They were like the things amazing yeah. I yeah you on the hitting stop hitting that other those sticks and come and color and play with this story that I came up with. Let me know what you think in aid wrapped up
Kid in the spring, gotta cotton that kid's hair
yeah. This is perfect. He's like this is gangbusters and I mean like he saw from that
very early back of the envelope market.
Surgery I did with the neighbourhood kids,
It made him a believer area like he saw. The kids really were into this thing in a I get the impression
at no point was like this thing is, is
amazing. It's natural he's like this. Is it's really cool? It's spring its physics, but it does
It looks really neat and it is somehow weirdly captivating yeah. I think they say that one in one thousand toys hits it big. Yes, something like that
yeah. So I mean there
the toy inventors that labour fur
tired, wiser and never hit on something like the slinky media is one of the top ten toys
three. When they give us today a little spring, they go slow.
Oh Betty, his wife? Wasn't super
Well, she was a little sceptical at first which will learn leaders pretty ira, very ironic, and he actually test or would naming it though, and she
is the one that found the word slinky in the dictionary. The apparently she spent like several-
Exerting for just the right word, I mean what also she don't read,
six gets you hired. Eventually she had alighted downtime
so radically this break. We will talk a little bit about how meant for me I'm just.
A garage neighbourhood idea to one of the biggest selling toys,
yeah.
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our
so he's gotta slinky he's got the prototype
it's a five hundred out alone to start from a friend the star
james spring and wire company llc near regan
yeah. Well, then, you got the five hundred bucks, apparently pretty easy from the friend by just showing them the slinky yeah, and he was like how much do you need? I didn't look up how much five hundred boxes, but in in nineteen forty five, but we can guess that it's about forty million. No,
No, because I think is about to see it was about. I think, sixty five hundred bucks.
hopefully roughly today, okay, which I mean that's substantial. They give a friend oh yeah again, and it was enough,
things go, and I think he really. I mean he had
Typee just needed an official company a banner basically right.
so he has his machine shop.
He has his prototype and he gets a bunch. A wire
and he makes a bunch of slinky is only goes.
local machine shop. First right, so
these local machine shop any makes four hundred slinky
There are two and a half inches taller contained eighty four,
of wire, which that's pretty impressive out in those nearly
yeah, but it makes sense. I guess because I think every kids
The uncoil there's fully
an apparently slinky, starts out as like normal round wire, but
smash it to make it flat. Yet is it it's gotta, be flattered to perform and said
in itself. Yeah. I didn't realize, though I I mean yeah makes sense, but I realize it started out as like a round willing diameter type wire there, but what kind of what kind of
metal, that he start out. A swedish steel high grade blue, relax, swedish steel guess that was the wire of the day, and it was in ninety eight coils and at first they just wrapped it and parchment paper later on. I think they packaged it in just a box like it's in today. Actually, today, I think it's in that awful,
plastic stuff, that you can't open? Always it now, while they
the throw back you can get them back.
yet it is still like model there.
The original box. We ask any chance you, I wouldn't get that one personally,
with the original metal slinky, then the whole history from the time he walked into that metal shop. The first time whence he had the prototype figured out throughout
today, there was only one design change in the whole time, and that was too crimply ends at after it was produced.
To keep it from tangling is easy and that for safety, so didn't like cut some kids, I out right,
You're a bunch of kids eyes were cut out, they grumpy and I dont know if they had foresight or refer, if that was in response to ice being gouged out, but that's crazy tat. We re only on land,
still today, one on amazon to double check in
Slinky is still two and a half inches tall. Why,
He didn't say how many coils it was because they didn't get that directive, but it
It's the same thing is. It was back in nineteen forty, what five the am surprised they didn't have like. You know the mega ex stream right linking
that gum is, is mountain view or something like that. They probably do have that actually
check it,
that of the original slinky, still like its exact same gap, the original metal ones, nadia fisher. Why change something's perfect right right in
so the the jew,
himself knew that this thing was perfect. Had a great name worked.
We well know the neighborhood.
loved, it sure so coarse course sing
become like a hit,
at the gate, right, nope, now, you're being coy. My friend
he took it to toy stores and the young
There was one storekeeper who said this is the atomic age kids, one big bright
anti things with lots of colours and lights.
we couldn't get this thing away if it play, god bless. America picked up the daily double. It walked out
the steps it's very cynical. It is
very cynical, he's exclamation point and stuff
but James rig James is like I'm rick James and
You know tell me what to do with my toys know any get in touch with gimbals, who is very famous as the macy's competitor on thirty fourth street nah. It's the only reason most of us have ever heard of gimbals yeah. I am
Gimbals in philadelphia apparently said you know what I like you I.
The way you smell.
I'm going to put your toys in our christmas display and will to see where it goes from their. Yet he was local at that level.
but a failure right,
If that they eventually moved outside of philly, but I'm not sure exactly where they were at this point, it would make sense yeah, although it's entirely possible, he was hustling hard enough that he, he was just hitting department stores all over the northeast, while in delaware, it's not too far anyway, so yeah, they may have still been in delaware.
If they they did
the philadelphia gimbals into putting this on their christmas display. So in christmas,
in forty five november, nineteen, forty five, the slinky debuted to public in it immediately takes off like Iraq it right now. I began that was double coy
No, it did for weeks
sat there, because of course it's just this thing.
The kids are never seen before the spring and
The parchment paper sitting between like really
some toys, it's just like all it's nothing but potential energy. At that point, the there's like a spring sitting between those,
I'm a gauge toys that that one shopkeeper was using exclamation point.
Yeah I mean if, though, if there was ever a toy that needed and demonstration
the light and amazed that was the slinky so
very frustrated with this richer james
apparently said to his wife, like I'm, going down to gimbals and I'm going to deal with this head on there and dumb
he said meet me there in like ninety minutes or something like that. So he went down. There took a couple slinky other parchment paper, inserted, look d
yeah, you stupid kid, that's what your hair away but check this out.
and dumb he started playing with them and apparently, by the time betty got down their ninety minutes later he had sold,
All four hundred slinky and
apparently align around the block asking for more yeah. That's
like such a trumped up story, but you know I love it there like within ninety minutes. It, though rate the world was
you crazy yup. The sign of a miracle and thirty forestry comes through and does like a little twirling goes out a frame again
but he did sell those four hundred units that day supposedly and by christmas.
they had sold twenty thousand, so it really did take off superfast gaff, once kids understood what the heck it was, and that was necessary,
inefficient amount of money chuck, I used west at this time
yeah at one dollar. They sell them for a dollar a piece yeah, so he sold four hundred units and then twenty thousand by the end of christmas, that translates
like thirty knowledge in today's money, I, while so imagine
being apparent today and being like you want me,
page thirteen dollars for a spring yeah. Are you crazy, but they still managed to catch,
in the public imagination just right there in the thing just spread like wildfire, not just in christmas of nineteen, forty five by christmas of nine,
in forty seven there is a new york times article and, like the fashion section talking about how d
must have a door
end of the year was a slinky dipped in gold with glitter sounds like something edward bernay. Let her get that right. Yes, I think so. I think that
coping as they remained a dollar for a lot of their life and
It said in this article here that in the mid nineties are only of a dollar eighty nine now they're like four five bucks. It looks like
saw again on amazon, yeah, amazon, amazon, dot, com, amazon, but that was like two. Twenty nine is the lowest. I saw hey, that's a good deal for a slinky, but even still yeah. If you want a great deal on anything, go to amazon dot com, I saw others at the other. Nameless online toy store retailers that were supposed to do four or five bucks, amazon
I could see that, though, for five bucks and make sense, but the point is for a very long time, still pretty cheap yea it.
stayed the same as the cost of living increase. So its relative price
went down tremendously in they. They did that on purpose well, and that was the exactly that was one of the things that, as will see here shortly betty's one of her favorite things. What is it that kids could have achieved roy yet and she wanted
even poor kids, to be able to buy something great and here's. My spring appears this link
just give me a dollar, so the james is
at the time they were, they were pretty
pretty much partnership from what
understand. At the very least, Betty was playing some
supporting role, at least as an adviser, possibly teacher, but again they had
six kids and she was raising them.
So it was really mostly richard running the company, but they took this
Indeed, two than the toy fair that american toy fair
in new york, which is the same one that barbie debut tat in the fifties. I think area barbie registered trademark,
took slinky. There are nineteen, forty seven and
They did it all themselves, they pitch the thing and they had people from toys. Tourism department stores from around the countries is signing up.
Slinky was he you? Apparently they made the equivalent of a billion dollars in the first two years, yea sold more than a hundred million in the first years of production at school
Is he a hundred million a hundred million? And this is a
population of you know the mid forties right yeah. It's not like you know. Nowadays that would be a little more
leave a boy thinks, although think about we. I wish I would have thought of that. Like there
hopefully weren't too terribly more much more than a hundred million people in the? U s at the time. So that's it!
slinky for every person in the. U s slinky in every part,
Things were going so well. He realized that my my machine shop here in delaware deluge.
our suburban pennsylvania, which, whichever it was, is not up to snuff and I
to set at my own shop so
He did that in albany new york and
like I'm a I'm. An inventor
I make my own machine that can make our own slinky is at a rate of
five seconds. A pop yeah, the old machine shop, was making them in a couple of minutes per slinky, which was fast for back. Then I think, but yet so Richard James said I'm going to make my own machine. That's that's really cool apps!
I think it's pretty me, and not only did he make his machine. He made a machine that can do one in five seconds, like you said, so, it is yes hook
the round wire smashed it and then coiled it yeah. Then. Second,
crimped the ends, I guess that's crazy,
I am you gotta slinky. You got a dollar in your pocket right there. This is when this is when it came in the black box and they did the parchment and was labelled,
slinky colon, the famous walking spring toy, and it was gangbusters man. It was
again they saw a hundred million in the first two years. To put it in perspective, I do
find out how many people there were in america in nineteen forty seven, there was one hundred and forty four million people in the u s and he sold one hundred million slinky. So for every one point, four people there was one of them had a slinky, so that means adults were buying slinky stew yeah, you know yeah.
so in the nineteen fifty they started to do without great
Do they sought to expand the line a bit yeah? They came up with them,
see about a woman named Helen mall, said, came up with the slinky dog, and this
he train because
She was a fan that date
It would like solicit ideas and she wrote a men said: hey, I think, would be
need. If you may like a dog at walked, but the man
Levin was a slinky right and
like the rear end, was right up the era like a toy story, exactly which they get. Some nice kicked back. Money
there is also the yet. Oh yes, so then they didn't steal people's ideas either.
oh, that was waiting for that to read
When I was reading this also nervous that, like Malta, died a bigger independently in new york, now she actually was a tree.
Twenty six toys and games in her career, while the
the slinky dog and slinky train where big big successes, but they may
we paid her sixty five grand a year for seventeen years,
that royalty. That's also which is kind of money, yeah, so hats off
you Helen while said there did you get the idea of whether she was already a toy inventor that this kind of gave her the the boost she needed to become and tell him for a career think she was a red, her new york times, o bet. I talked about some
other games that she had tried to create gotta. I don't think she had like burst.
The scene. There are anything, but that's it
comfortable living back then, oh hacker, so they also this susie, the slinky worm. Then
frankie crazy eyes. You know that I remember that those classes they have
the slinky is attached to the big bloodshot eyeballs. Those are slinky brand hysterical and it turns out that it wasn't just toys. The slinky patent that Richard James originally got back in the forties was also licensed out for other stuff, like it was used in antennas. It
that being used on battleships or other kinds of ships is a stabilizing thing like he was originally after the gutter
sectors so that to light fixtures total sense,
so they also made a tonic cash subway.
in saying this whole that, like this
binkie patent out for other uses, besides the toys in the slinky hippo and all that stuff yet and they gave of soldiers in vietnam, slinky is didn't licence.
Like two straight up gave them slinky, is to use in the future
the old as antennas, so they would
for the slinky, like over a tree branch and then
oh it down and connected to their radio to boost their internet signal. That is pretty
bring me. You know it's being used today in space,
they ve they're. Using the same, I think,
a patent originally to deploy solar sales in space. Oh yeah, pretty cool. I wonder if their licence
That is the actual they I mean
nasa was using their slinky name all over the article I was reading than their pain and there's another one tooth. It there's a paper slinky that has
its coated with a metal on one side and so the when you make a go,
springing to non springing. I think, is the physics terms that I'm searching for sure creates static electricity and it creates enough that that can be captured and used to generate
er no way yeah way and his people at georgia, tech who are doing it. Well, that makes sense
or its, where are we? He is sold a hundred million of these he's expanding, align and right after this break, we are going to do
about a very interesting turn in this story that has to do with well
we'll see
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So we're back chuck.
link is doing well. It's the fifties. There's a time just different slinky, stuff slink
Guy balls are both freaking out their teachers
and things are grown. Grateful James is right. I think teachers des drawers are loaded with slinky products and shattering the teeth.
And rotten apples owner that came from giving the teacher an apple
I don't know, but about somebody out there will let us now
right. So it's the mid nineteen fifties. They are loaded at this point loaded making tons of money. At this point they had moved to a wealthy suburb of
philadelphia with a thirty
bedroom estate on twelve acres, rich super, rich people.
good for them therein Bryn Mawr, which is like the wealthiest other
oh yeah suburbs. I bet it's too little. Bryn Mawr, it doesn't sound like a places gone down the tubes now
so welsh Bryn.
Looks pretty well. She our why in
I may w are steadily something uk, obviously wealth.
So betty things were going
while we were the business but within the family, things weren't so great, because Betty found out that rick James,
was stepan
He was a super freak and he was
fooling around on quite a bit from the sounds of right and choose like. Ok, let's see am I gonna- do
the zero and go find a hero, or what am I going to do and she said well, I have six kids and I'm going to stick with this dude for the benefit of the kids and she did but
Early things were never the same after that. I'm sure
and as a result, Richard James started going to church a lot more yeah and it really got to him. Yeah really spoke to him a lot going to church and
something of a I guess it I took it, although it didn't say he became something of a born again yet
exactly what it became yet buddy started out, obviously as a catholic, because he used to go to confession there, all the time which
he's like ok, what that I thought really bad about things and he wanted to get stuff off his chest, not so
says Betty his ex wife here Betty said that he liked the attention
that he would get from confessing in confession:
yeah a cute kitty, you was sort of a hotshot and I think he liked to just be.
wierd. Maybe I dunno I or just for people listened to them or who knows? That's just a that's a weird thing: that's a weird little thing to do is go to confession to get attention. I thought it was
very strange. So, as he's
a confession, as he's going to church more more more. His arm
they need his family is even though they are still at home. Yet any living with his family's becoming isolated, not just from society at large, is becoming
pretty isolated from his family's. Well, I get the impression that they didn't go down the church path. Quite
degree he did bright, and so that was causing him to feel more more isolated, causing him to withdraw more more and dumb. There was at some point
a moment where he revealed that
they didn't have much money anymore, not only that there are in debt to
figure debt yeah, but a million dollars in death yet cause he started, fondling all their millions,
dogmatic evangelical religious groups donating all
money not only there may be some yeah exactly. He was like not paying creditors here for
llc their own slinky,
who is diverting that revenue from the business to religious group
He was a member of yet in this article said straight up like if you bought a slinky before nineteen sixty
your money with exactly there right.
Those kind of a big deal. This is again revelation that was
I started in the mid fifties and really
Just got weird and the James family from the mid fifties till nineteen sixty
yeah and then all of a sudden in nineteen sixty richard James said have you
as ever heard of bolivia, no
it's too bad, because I just bought a one way ticket there and I'm going now.
Don't ask me why I'm just going to join a religious group in the wilds of bolivia yet
I've, seen a characterizes occult. That is not quite
the old. They were called the white
with bible translators,
they're still around, but it was basically their mission is to
inside the bible into as many languages and get it into his many hands around the world is possible and he felt that call in straight up left his.
and we said smile you later in never got back
in touch with the begin know so far as I could tell that was february of nineteen sixty and I think it was betty who called it a cult, an evangelical christian katya, which you know she was upset.
You know, and she read up about him and said the seems really weird me right, but yeah
quite a cult, but I get it she scorned, so that was February. Nineteen sixty that richard leaves for bolivia and
for he left he.
Zat betty down and said
as you know, we're a million dollars in debt. I'm leaving
You have a choice here. We can.
their liquidate, the company or you can take over your choice.
I really don't care. I'm going to bolivia and probably never coming back. Youse can surprise that she got that operate.
to decide at least what to do with her future yeah.
I was glad to know that it was within her power bright.
I it took me a couple of times a reading this before I finally caught onto that at first. I thought he just laughed in she slid into that position, but yet he gave her the choice like you can liquidate.
raising six kids right, you're probably make some money off of it after
creditors are paid off. So do you want to do that? She said
Oh, I know I'm gonna try taking over the company, I'm gonna all on slinky, so she took over this company chuck that was in really dire straits. Ya, don't think we even mentioned that slinky
had started to wane and popularity right, so not only were they in debt, but toward the end
nineteen fifties. Everyone had like this slinky crazed sort, a path.
So we said that sold one hundred million units. Yes, first two years since nineteen
forty seven note. The nineteen forty five minutes
three hundred million total, a full one, third of all, slinky sober soul in in the first two years, so star, star, crested and then started to fall, and so this lady took over a company that was with with yet yet star. Star product was
not so much of a star any longer
and dumb had six shed six kids and she decided, rather than to liquidate the company to say,
see what I can do with this. I'm is right to bring it back and she did ya mean reading
she's, truly one like the great women in american history. I think she's she's, doubling the hero, the story to an revered by toy enthusiasts, but I don't think
people even nor name. You now know it
Betty James. I rejoined hit so
her first plan was. I have all these creditors at least. Let me try and get this deferred for
oh, and was somehow able to talk him into deferring some of these payments yeah, thank god, yeah and then in nineteen sixty two, she
ere, the three deeds from cologne
south carolina. Johnny chuck
in homer, vesper men wrote them
and trials weekly wrote the lyrics to
would later become the
longest running.
Dare I say most successful,
she'll jingle of all time. If, yes, I would say,
possibly the most.
well known at least so let some
a little bit of that right now, everyone's
and here it is
locked retire with, aren't again and make the having been down like a girl inherited laying the first presented to camp. I got it all over town, so sure,
sounds familiar. Apparently there was a nineteen ninety survey that was conducted that found that eighty nine point eight percent of americans either no, it has slinky, is or are from
you're with that jingle. So that's definitely
it's gotta, be the most successful jingle of all time like what else is there?
I can't think of anything else to put up against it, have a coconut smile,
however, I don't even know how they got that
It's just a slogan that wasn't a sound area now you're totally right and you, and I,
course all day have been singing it's log, it's loud and I was like- oh that was obviously based on the slinky jingle. I went back and listen to. I was like no, it is this slinky jingle the place, the joker, the lyrics I didn't get the joke, while Ren and stimpy fans obviously know what I just did. But if you were like, I don't get
What is log have to do anything just like a blog, I guess log jingle, maybe so
This was a huge it and it's funny. I was looking on the internet to see if I could find anything on these guys that wrote this thing
and homer vestrymen has a facebook page
it's gotta, be him! How ya had is clicked on it, and the first thing I saw was south carolina. Gamecock sneer like welcome
he's out your china and it looks like he's making like
video scrapbooks for people
that's facebook, page barbadoes wide open, and I want to get dutch and say: are you? Are you ve homer? Maybe we you just get a like little quick interview or something but ended. So look him up
homer vestrymen he's on that is on the internet. The everybody friend him he'll be like what is going on have been spanned by the friendliest people on facebook, who are fans
seven. So
he's gathers jingle out there
this was a master stroke. Oh yeah. She also did some of the advertising. She really put a lot of money into advertising, but apparently I get
impression that she had like some? She cut some good deals.
It wasn't. She shouldn't hemorrhaging money on advertising. We are very smart yeah.
And slinky is stars
started to rise. Once again. Will she moved the facility closer to philadelphia to him
It saves money and no longer to be with their kids more, although she did you now, she had a caretaker. So the kids, I think they said like Sunday, thursday, they m, had allowed
like attention from nannies and things right,
I get the idea. She was a good mom. She was trying to do right by her family right and not only her family. This this article on price dynamics points out that she was also helping out the families of, I think, the one hundred and twenty person team that she put together, and it says they were a close knit and which definitely kind of jibes, with the impression that I've gotten of her totally and so she's she's got this.
jingle down slinky starting to come back a little bit and also, I think the tec
but she's, taking as its it's an inexpensive toy that everybody can enjoy right,
It's still I mean this. I don't know if all of it would have been quite so possible
a bit serendipity not happen in the mid nineties, seventies, plastic plastic,
was at the thing. Yet there is a dude in minnesota who
is a plastic worker who figured out basically awaited.
the plastic slinky and went to
clean to Betty James and the her company and said
What do you think about this?
she said you know what I don't steal it
I pay, but how much you want me to make a check out for years
was donald James room- and he was of
master mark plastics and he was trying to make a garden hose that coiled, like they have now, like a plastic garden hose that self, coiled and
we failed in his kids, apparently were like that looks like it slinky
and he was like orwell limits and is a city kids attorney concentrate.
The garden hose. So, like you said they they
made a great deal in him. He ended up with tons of money to and it made slinky super popular again and it became the slinky rainbow the rainbows here and now, all of a sudden, not just a
nah slinky. Now you had this, what they call the eight less
No prone alternative to slinky, which is pretty bold, cause you're, saying your original product is tangle prone still worked
Maybe they just knew that everybody knew that the slinky is tangle prone and am now they had a couple of products again that were really saleable and that this
nike star rose once more yet and, like I said the toy story, they did make a great deal with them. I guess it was pixar
yeah and sold a time more slinky is. I went away
became out because of the dark right exactly in nineteen. Seventy four betty,
receive news at her husband, rick James, had passed away, who she
he catalyze within a few months of going to bolivia, like she had heard anything from the that's just unbelievable
but she was
when fine, and so she was probably like
thanks for letting you know who cares,
it might have been little said, I'm not gonna say that, but.
She then sold to approve products and nineteen any aid for what she called a quote: a boat load of money,
and good for her, and she lived on for another ten years to the ripe old age of ninety, and I
before. Then. She was recognised by the toy industry associations, hall of fame. Yank slinky was inducted in two thousand, so she would have been alive for that. Pretty me yeah threats, slinky
Yeah, I guess you know what the only other thing I had with them. You can make this
or worse, blaster sound with a slinky, oh really yeah, you and all you can do at the mic
If on or you can you put a cup a paper,
at the end of the slinky any hold out in the air to sit like the height of your head
the rest of this linking falls to the ground and the need to start.
Basically there all kinds and was as you can make. But if you want to make that sound, you can pick up the bottom.
Off the floor, and then just let it drop on the floor catch a real, quick and it does it do to nice mix. Anita
chuck tip right there. You go to youtube and look up star wars, slinky, sound and there's a couple of deeds. Of course
So you just added to affirm that that's one of the reasons to I Betty James chose the words.
He is not only because it was sleek and attractive, but also show
I think she thought that that was a good description of what the sound it made as it went downstairs those before blaster or she would have called it. The the blaster and and there's
last thing about slinky physics that are pretty amazing material. So if you'd, if you
dangle slinky out two words completely
stretched out as much as is going to without putting any pressure is letting the force of gravity stretch out the slinky until it reaches a gorilla about a window, it's ok.
without this bottom touching the ground out a fourth story window awesome.
and you are actually if it was like eighty something feet and it'd have to be higher than that cause. It's like you would go right down to the ground man. Well,
had the weight, the bottom of it, okay, so
I'll say for a story of european and
if you have a hot or you're holding it steady, it's not moving, and then you release the top. The top will start to fall, but if you pay close attention, the bottom
stays where it is worth. Sleek is actually have this amazing property of managing the levitate momentarily when the top
is released.
and some
restart scientists studied this and they measured it and they found yes indeed. The top is moving in. The bottom is remaining
floating in mid air and they fit,
doubt that the reason why, because the tension is still acting,
against the force of gravity. The ashes reached equilibrium thrive on the lower part of the coil and basic,
the information that gravity is that tension is released in gravity, is about to win. Yeah hasn't reached that bottom part, yet each coil stacks upon the next one in the next one and the next one so as a tap
up top down below it
all hunky dory still its
you're still hold mondo me it far. As I know it's literally floating in mid air it. This did its
its ceaselessly amazing, basically the slinky or those who are too pretty boss,
slinky tricks, yeah and what a great way to finish. I think
So if you want to know more about slinky, yes, you can go to the pond cast page on house step. You should know that come and
check out. Our slinky episode in there should be linked to this price now makes article and
youtube. Slinky master. All they want is go check that out,
and, I didn't say, search bar, but you can imagine that I would have under normal circumstances, which means it's time for listener: mail,
I'm gonna call this sage from portland. Remember sage, yet
We do a little q and a at the end of these live shows and where people can get up and ask us questions and sages was great, so I told her to send it in
hey guys, just got back from your life shown portland
chuck said to write in to my amazing fact.
Super nervous to go up. There will say you did great by the way
my fact, as you can actually tell how old humpback whales is, I look
their ear wax because of
rings like a tree. Oh yeah that yeah humpback whales migrate from alaska. Why each year for meeting the temperature
of the ocean. Water causes the
to form, researchers will examine the earwax of ease whales. There were,
each to buy another age and a lot of other facts about them.
gross and fascinating justly
The actual your wax madcap guys found out this, while snorkeling
occurs, and why last week for spring break things,
for everything, and thanks for the live show, especially
was totally awesome with four x
nation boys, for that's pretty
rating man alive, had so much fine, and I think I got my mom hooked on your show to local. So thanks to sage and her mom for bringing her in,
I'll get dmitri, did a great job
Nervous, it are not totally
Large and in charge like you do
its key waste of every night. That's right! Thanks! Everybody important you guys. I think the chuck every single person that we met before and after said, welcome. Nepal
like we literally welcomed by every single person there, it was really did their proud of their city
as they should be. Yes, if you want to get in touch with us about,
can you do with whales are slinky caesar live shows or any of that jazz
You can try to us it s why escape pod podcast,
You can join us on facebook, dot, com, slash stuff, you should know
could send an email to stop podcast how stuff works, dot, com and, as always
join us at our luxurious home on the web stuff. You should
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Transcript generated on 2023-12-27.