Slinky or rainbow spring: the history of creation. Toys encyclopedia of our childhood What is the name of the spring multi-colored toy

Remember everyone's favorite childhood toy rainbow spring? Strictly speaking, its official name is Slinky, and the history of the creation of the cult toy dates back to 1943. Many fans of this funny little thing do not know that it was invented quite by accident.

In 1943, naval mechanical engineer Richard James worked at the William shipyards, where he developed springs that could support and stabilize ships' sensitive instruments in stormy conditions. As he reached for one of the springs he had created, it suddenly flew off the shelf. But she did it in an unimaginable way: the spring began to write out a series of arcs, “stepping” first onto a stack of books, then onto a table, and then onto the floor. Richard took a liking to the manoeuvrable thing and began to refine the spring by testing different types of steel and levels of tension.

After a year of work, Richard James was ready to introduce a new invention to the world. His wife, Betty, had doubts about her husband's intentions, but those doubts were quickly dispelled after she saw the final product. When the first one appeared, the children in the neighborhood eagerly waited in line to try out the new toy.

Richard and Betty James took out a $500 loan and formed James Industries, originally known as the James Spring & Wire company. The first 400 units were made from high quality blue-black Swedish steel. Each toy was hand-wrapped in yellow paper and was supposed to sell for one dollar apiece.

But all the toy stores quickly rejected Richard's new invention. In 1945, the Gimbels department store decided to give the couple a chance, and then Richard and Betty demonstrated the invention to the general public for the first time in the toy section. All 400 units were sold in just 90 minutes. And by the end of the 20th century, there were already more than 250 million copies sold. Nowadays, slinky can be seen in all stores in the world in metal and plastic versions.

1. From 1945 to the present, 50 thousand tons of wire have been used in the manufacture of the Slinky, which would be enough to wrap the globe 121 times around the equator.

2. In 1960, Richard James left his deeply indebted company and moved to Bolivia. His wife, Betty, refused to go with him, so he handed over the management of the company to her. Betty turned out to be a much better leader than her ex-husband. The company expanded significantly under the leadership of the inventor's ex-wife, thanks to which the Slinks have survived to this day.

3. Betty James died at the age of 90 in 2008, and her ex-husband Richard died just 14 years after moving to Bolivia in 1974.

4. In 1945, the Slinky sold for $1; today, the standard American price for the iconic toy is $1.99.

5. US troops in Vietnam used a Slinky spring as a radio antenna, and NASA used the toy in some weightlessness experiments.

A plastic spring made of many coils of all colors of the rainbow. It was invented in 1943 by US Navy engineer Richard James, who experimented with springs to invent a device to combat

the pitching of the ship. He dropped the bundled wire onto the floor. The wire twisted and bounced in a funny way. In 1945, James and his wife, Betty, began manufacturing the slinky spring toy for children. There are two versions of the origin of the name of the toy: from the words "snake like motion" - "snake movement", or from the Swedish "slinky" - "winding". In Russia, she was also called "rainbow" and "onda" ("ondamania master").

The rainbow could be tossed from hand to hand, calming the nerves and listening to the crackling of the rings. Also, the toy had the ability to walk, going down the stairs. The diameter of the rings made it possible to wear a spring on the wrist.

Often the rainbow is tangled. If it was incorrectly or roughly untangled, it lost its properties. It quickly became dirty, from which the coils stuck together.

Children organized competitions, whose spring walks the stairs longer, or simply measured the number of rings.

Subsequently, springs appeared in the form of hearts and stars.

Related links:

Forum discussions:

The opinion of the author of the article may not coincide with the opinion of the readers. We have a common past, we look at it differently. Do you think it was all wrong? If you want to develop and discuss the topic covered here, welcome to the forum.

If you have specific additions or links that should be in this article, leave your comment below. If a comment does not meet these requirements, it will be deleted or moved to the forum.

Additions to the article:

Probably everyone has seen this toy - but few people know what it is really called: we usually call it just a spring, without delving into the details of its invention and origin. And the toy has an interesting story. And a lot of fans.

Other names of the toy: spring, onda, ondamania, andamania, rainbow, rainbow spring, spiral.

So, spring is called slinky (slinky) is one of the most famous and beloved toy brands in the US, a true American classic.

They appeared after the end of the Second World War in 1945, Slinks quickly won the hearts of millions of people. More recently, it was even indecent not to have such a toy - they were worn like bracelets, garlands were made, but the most interesting thing is to make the spring "walk" along the steps of the stairs. She herself has launched it like this more than once - an amazing sight, whoever has not tried it - try it!

And today Slinky springs are made only in the USA, at the same factory where the first Slinky was produced in 1945. True, today they are sold in almost any children's world - I think it could not do without Chinese-made springs.

In the USSR, the very first Slinky spring appeared in the possession of the writer K.I. Chukovsky. According to rumors, this same spring is still "walking" on children's tours of the house-museum of the writer from the second to the first floor.

Slinky analogues and fakes

Real Slinky springs are very different from fakes, usually sold without packaging and painted in rainbow colors. I just had such a fake - it did not last long - it broke very quickly.

True slinky don't tangle due to the wide profile of the rings, both plastic and metal versions. Fakes save on materials, and the ring profile of a fake spring is usually narrow, almost square 1x1, instead of the 1x5 ratio of the "native" Slinky.

Real branded slinks do not break - over 60 years of work, a factory in the USA has developed the formula for an ideal plastic for springs: it is durable, elastic, and resistant to deformation. Such a spring can still probably be passed on by inheritance. And fake ones break quickly - mine was enough for just a couple of days.

Slinky springs have been made only in the USA for 60 years! These are toys that are "made in USA" - such goods are very rare today, basically even world brands produce toys in China and other countries, not in the USA.

Real slinks are only round and no others, all figured forms - a butterfly, an asterisk, a heart and others cannot "walk" up the stairs, and this is their most important and interesting application.

Slinks are not painted (except for colored metal versions only). Therefore, the "native" Slinky cannot be rainbow colored. The rainbow spring is very beautiful, perhaps the most popular of Chinese fakes, but how the plastic is colored is a big question.

The main difference between a real spring and a Chinese one is the price. "Native" spring is quite expensive - about 400-600 rubles (in Russia), A Chinese rainbow can be bought for only 50.

There are such types of slinks:

• Original Slinky
• Retro Slinky - Silver and Black
• Slinky Neon - slinky with two-tone plastic
• Metal Slinky - metal springs in three colors (blue, red and green)
• Plastic Slinky - plastic springs in different colors
• there are also unusual options (as in the photo) - slinky doggy.

From the history of toys

Slinky(translated from Swedish Slinky meaning mysterious, smooth and sinuous) is a spring toy created in 1943 in the USA by Richard James. It was originally made of black metal. Also known as Andamania.

It can be thrown from hand to hand and thereby calm the nerves. She can also walk down stairs. The real Slinky spring is still made only in the USA and comes only in a round shape and one color. Plastic Slinks were made from colored plastic, and metal ones were painted using a special technology. In the 90s, many fakes from Southeast Asia appeared in the form of hearts, stars and butterflies, often painted in rainbow colors.

The round shape of the original Slinky, both metal and plastic, is due to the fact that springs of a different shape do not know how to step smoothly up the stairs, so they are not so interesting to play with.