Wham-O, we hardly knew ye

Cory Doctorow 11:04 pm Sat Jun 29, 2002

RIP, Arthur (Spud) Melin, inventor of the Frisbee and the Hula-Hoop.

"No sensation has ever swept the country like the Hula Hoop," author Richard Johnson wrote in his book American Fads. "(It) remains the standard against which all national crazes are measured."

Melin and Knerr started with slingshots and named their mail-order company after the sound a slingshot made when its projectile struck a target. They branched into other sporting goods, including pellet guns, crossbows and daggers.

They added toys in 1955, when building inspector Fred Morrison sold them a plastic flying disc he had developed after watching Yale University students toss pie tins. Wham-O began selling the disc they called the Pluto Platter two years later before modifying it and renaming it the Frisbee.

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(Thanks, Amanda!)

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