Reynolds Winsor "Reyn" Guyer (born in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

in 1935) is an American

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an id ...

Inventions

Among his notable developments are

Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1 ...

in 1967 and the

NERF Nerf is a toy brand formed by Parker Brothers and currently owned by Hasbro. Most of the toys are a variety of foam-based weaponry, with other Nerf products including balls for sports such as American football, basketball, and baseball. ...

ball in 1969, which he developed for

Milton Bradley Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...

and

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

, respectively. He was inducted into the

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

toy and game Inventors' Hall of Fame in 1986. Besides his work as a toy inventor, Guyer has also founded a music publishing company called Wrensong/Reynsong Music of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

in 1985.

Philanthropy

Having struggled with dyslexia himself, Reyn cofounded Winsor Learning in 1991 to help children who also struggle to read. The Sonday System and Let's Play Learn are effective remediation methods for students who are behind in their reading skills. These programs are used in hundreds of school systems across the country.

Current Projects

My Friend Wren
is Reyn's current project. My Friend Wren is a thoughtfully crafted collection of creative and gentle children's stories and songs designed to provide insightful, educational material and adventure to both kids and parents alike. Reyn narrates and sings every story and song himself. * The Curly Lasagna project, a series of stories and songs for kids and parents that he created with Jeff Harrington * A dice game Rally Roll, which he invented in 2014 * Creating sculptures and artwork, many of which are in private collections * A new lawn game called King's Court

References

External links

Official websitePatent for Twister
1935 births Toy inventors 20th-century American inventors Living people People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Dartmouth College alumni {{US-inventor-stub