What famous toy made its 1945 debut at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia?

In 1943, Navy engineer Richard James watched a spring fall off his desk, which landed on a book and flipped over before landing upright on the floor. This gave him the idea for manufacturing a new toy after leaving the service in 1945, and upon setting up shop in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, the Slinky was born. Months later, at its first public demonstration at Gimbels in downtown Philadelphia, the entire 400-unit stock sold out in just 90 minutes.

The standard Slinky is 81 feet of steel wire, coiled to just 2 ½ inches tall and safety-crimped at both ends, which can stretch out to a rough maximum of 8 feet. Costing $1 each in 1945, today the original model usually retails for $3-5.

The Hollidaysburg factory is still the only place Slinkys are made, with several variations: The 30% longer Giant Slinky, the quarter-scale Junior Slinky, the plastic multicolored Neon Slinky, and the beloved Slinky Dog, which gave the company a resurgence in popularity after its appearance in the “Toy Story” films.