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Wham-O
Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. It is known for creating and marketing many popular toys for nearly 70 years, including the Hula hoop, Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, Silly String, Hacky sack, Wham-O Bird Ornithopter and Boogie Board, many of which have become genericized trademarks. Corporate history Richard Knerr (1925–2008) and Arthur "Spud" Melin (1924–2002), two University of Southern California graduates who were friends since their teens, were unhappy with their jobs and decided to start their own business. In 1948 they formed the WHAM-O Manufacturing Company in the Knerr family garage in South Pasadena. Their first product was the Wham-O Slingshot, made of ash wood, which Knerr and Melin promoted by holding demonstrations of their own slingshot skills. The name "Wham-O" was inspired by the sound of the slingshot's shot hitting the target. The powerful slingshot was adopted by clubs for competi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super Ball
A Super Ball or Superball is a toy bouncy ball based on a type of synthetic rubber invented in 1964 by chemist Norman Stingley. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron, which contains the synthetic polymer polybutadiene as well as hydrated silica, zinc oxide, stearic acid, and other ingredients. This compound is vulcanized with sulfur at a temperature of and formed at a pressure of . The resulting Super Ball has a very high coefficient of restitution, and if dropped from shoulder level on a hard surface, a Super Ball bounces nearly all the way back; thrown down onto a hard surface by an average adult, it can fly over a three-story building. History Stingley sought uses for his polybutadiene synthetic rubber, as well as someone to manufacture it. He first offered his invention to the Bettis Rubber Company, for whom he worked at the time, but they turned it down because the material was not very durable. So Stingley took it to toy company Wham-O; they worked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slip 'N Slide
Slip 'N Slide is a children's toy invented by Robert Carrier and manufactured by Wham-O. It was first sold in 1961. The main form is a plastic sheet and a method of wetting it; when the surface is wet it becomes very slippery, thus allowing the user to slide along it. Some versions also include an inflatable swimming pool for the user to slide into at the end of slide, and spray tubes. History The creator was inspired by his son sliding on wet, painted concrete. He used his job as an upholsterer to obtain a long strip of Naugahyde, sewed a tube to pass a hose into, and punctured the tube sporadically to allow water to spurt out. Carrier sold his invention to Wham-O where they replaced Naugahyde with plastic to reduce production costs. The toy is a long sheet of thin plastic, constructed with a heat-sealed tube running along one side. The tube can be connected to any garden hose and water goes in the tube and out through small holes, spraying onto the sliding surface where it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frisbee 090719
A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitively for throwing and catching, as in flying disc games. The shape of the disc is an airfoil in cross-section which allows it to fly by reducing the drag and increasing lift as it moves through the air, compared to a flat plate. Spinning the disc imparts a stabilizing gyroscopic force, allowing it to be both aimed with accuracy and thrown for distance. A wide range is available of flying disc variants. Those for disc golf are usually smaller but denser compared to ultimate frisbee, and tailored for particular flight profiles to increase or decrease stability and distance. The longest recorded disc throw is by David Wiggins Jr. with a distance of . Disc dog sports use relatively slow-flying discs made of more pliable material to better resist a dog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hula Hoop
A hula hoop is a toy hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel with careful execution and practice. They have been used by children and adults since at least 500 BC. The modern hula hoop was inspired by Australian bamboo hoops. Common lore posits the creators of the plastic hoop witnessed Australian children playing with bamboo hoops while driving past in an automobile. The new plastic version was popularized in 1958 by the Wham-O toy company and became a fad. Hula hoops for children generally measure approximately in diameter, while those for adults measure around . Traditional materials for hula hoops include willow, rattan (a flexible and strong vine), grapevines and stiff grasses. Commercial hoops are usually made of plastic tubing. Origins Native American Hoop Dance is a form of storytelling dance incorporating hoops as props. These props are used to create both static and dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silly String
Silly String (generically known as aerosol string) is a toy of flexible, sometimes brightly colored, plastic String (structure), string propelled as a stream of liquid from an aerosol can. The solvent in the string quickly evaporates in mid-air, creating a continuous strand. Silly String is often used during weddings, birthday parties, carnivals and other festive occasions, and has also been used by the US military to detect tripwires. Composition Silly String is made of a mixture of components dispersed throughout a liquid solvent in the product’s aerosol can. These substances include a polymer resin that provides the string’s structure, a plasticizer to tune the physical properties of the string, and a surfactant that promotes foaming of the product. Other ingredients include silicone fluid (to make the strands easier to clean up), flame retardant, and a pigment for color. A key component in Silly String is its aerosol spray can and the propellant that ejects the produ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slingshot
A slingshot or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two tubes or strips made from either a natural rubber or synthetic elastic material. These are attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pouch that holds the projectile. One hand holds the frame, while the other hand grasps the pocket and draws it back to the desired extent to provide power for the projectile—up to a full span of the arms with sufficiently long bands. Other names include catapult (United Kingdom), peashooter (United States), gulel (India), (South Africa), or ging, shanghai, pachoonga (Australia and New Zealand) Use and history Slingshots depend on strong Elasticity (physics), elastic materials for their projectile firepower, typically vulcanization, vulcanized natural rubber or the equivalent such as silicone rubber tubing, and thus date no earlier than the invention of vulcanized rubber by Charles Goodyear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Knerr
Richard Knerr (30 June 1925 – 14 January 2008) was an American inventor best known for marketing the Frisbee and Hula hoop. Career Wham-O In 1948, he co-founded the company Wham-O with Arthur Melin (nicknamed "Spud"). In 1957, an Australian visiting California told them offhand that in his home country, children twirled bamboo hoops around their waists in gym class. Knerr and Melin saw how popular such a toy would be, and soon they were winning rave reviews from school children for the hollow plastic prototype they had created. References External linksThe Joy of Sillyarticle in the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...Official Frisbee websiteby Wham-O, manufacturer of Frisbee brand flying discs Obituary in "The Guardian", 7 April 2008 Univ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Frederick Morrison
Walter Frederick Morrison (January 23, 1920 – February 9, 2010) was an American inventor and entrepreneur, who invented the Frisbee. Early life Walter Fredrick "Fred" Morrison was born on January 23, 1920, in Richfield, Utah, the son of Dr. Walter F. Morrison, an optometrist. Career Morrison stated that the original idea for a flying disc toy came to him in 1937, while throwing a popcorn can lid with his girlfriend, Lucile Eleanor "Lu" Nay (1920–1987), whom he later married on April 3, 1939, in Los Angeles, California. The popcorn can lid soon dented which led to the discovery that cake pans flew better and were more common. A year later, Morrison and Lu were offered 25 cents () for a cake pan that they were tossing back and forth on a Santa Monica, California, beach. Morrison detailed, in a 2007 interview, "That got the wheels turning, because you could buy a cake pan for five cents, and if people on the beach were willing to pay a quarter for it, well—there was a busines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marlex
Marlex is a trademarked name for a crystalline polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). These plastics were invented by J. Paul Hogan and Robert Banks, two research chemists at the Phillips Petroleum Company in 1951. Interest in the material in the 1950s arose from its high melting point and tensile strength, making it more desirable than the more common form of polyethylene. For example, the medical community in 1958 was eager to use Marlex 50 crystalline polyethylene which softens at . Objects made of Marlex could be sterilized in high-temperature autoclaves without affecting their form. Marlex was used by Wham-O for their Hula Hoops in the 1950s, which helped create a market for this form of plastic. It is now an integral part to a wide variety of products and markets around the world. Additionally, it can be used surgically as a reinforcing mesh in inguinal hernia repair Inguinal hernia surgery is an operation to repair a weakness in the abdominal wall that ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huy Fong Foods
Huy Fong Foods is an American hot sauce company based in Irwindale, California. It was founded by David Tran, a Vietnamese-born immigrant, beginning in 1980 on Spring Street in Los Angeles's Chinatown. It has grown to become one of the leaders in the Asian hot sauce market with its sriracha sauce, popularly referred to as "rooster sauce" or "cock sauce" due to the image of a rooster on the label. Products The company's most popular product is its sriracha sauce. The primary ingredients are peppers, garlic, and sugar. It is currently Huy Fong Foods' best-known and best-selling item, easily recognized by its bright red color and its packaging: a clear plastic bottle with a green cap, text in five languages ( Vietnamese, English, Chinese, French, and Spanish) and the rooster logo. One nickname for the product is "rooster sauce”, for the logo on the bottles. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the list of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania. Australia is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent. It is a megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and Climate of Australia, climates including deserts of Australia, deserts in the Outback, interior and forests of Australia, tropical rainforests along the Eastern states of Australia, coast. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last glacial period. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
