Yep, there is a holiday for that Slinky toy that we all had to have as a kid, but soon grew tired of because of its simplicity… actually there is so much more to a Slinky than most of us knew.
Brief history. I was first created in 1943 Richard James, a naval engineer in a shipyard, noticed a dropped spring walk downstairs by itself. Like the Slinky itself, its history is as undulating. With a slow start, its popularity jumped after its commercial debut at a large department store around Christmas, then later at the American Toy Fair. This lasted until near bankruptcy in 1960, when Richard joined a cult and left his wife to rebuild it back to the notoriety it has today.
Slinky’s versatility. It is not just a toy that seems to have limited function. It has been used: by NASA for experiments; as mobile radio antennas by amateur radio operators (which started during the Vietnam War); by teachers to simulate oscillation in waves; and are used by physical therapists to improve hand-eye coordination. It also comes in different styles; the standard circle, square, star, wiener dog version, the Slinky train Loco, the Slinky worm Suzie, and the Slinky Crazy Eyes. DID YOU KNOW: the Slinky song is the longest running ad jingle (since 1962). But how about a Slinky career?! Yep. Slinky Josh not only gets paid to perform Slinky tricks (yes, multiple gyrations) at various venues, he has also been on national TV shows like the Gong show, America’s got talent, MTV Amazingness, Germany Das Super Talent, and the Jimmy Fallon show. He also has at least 123 different TikTok posts with a total of 9.6M likes (one which has 1.7M likes) and a funny and entertaining YouTube channel where you can learn his tricks and find out how to untangle a Slinky. But Josh isn’t the only Slinky manipulator; here is a “World Best Slinky Manipulator Compliation” video.