My nephew is enthralled with the Slinky! He brought one over the other day and was laughing hysterically as it went down the steps. While working in the shipyards in Philadelphia, Richard James, a US Naval engineer decided that a torsion spring would make a great toy. He received a $500 loan in 1943 and made 400 toys. His wife came up with the name. He set up a display in Gimbels Department Store and sold his 400 Slinkys in just 90 minutes.

A factory was built in 1948 in Philadelphia and then relocated to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. The line expanded an other toys were added. The Slinky was actually used as a mobile antenna during the Vietnam War. It is also the official toy of Pennsylvania.

Richard James decided to join a evangelical religious sect in 1960 and relocated to Bolivia. He left the company to his wife who took over as CEO. She got the company out of debt and introduced the new jingle that you can hear in the commercial below. Richard James died in 1974 in Bolivia. The company, James Industries, was sold to Poof Products, Inc. in 1998.