Slinky

Generation upon generation can relate to the Slinky.

Slinkies are famous toys that are primarily a coil spring with multiple entertaining properties.
A Slinky has the ability of stepping down stairs automatically, with moments of apparent defiance of gravity, and its properties are mostly governed by the physics of waves, gravity and momentum.
In 1943, Richard James, an engineer for the American navy, designed the Slinky after attempting to create a spring for use in sensitive watercraft equipment, when he accidentally discovered the spring’s ‘walking’ properties.
The Slinky became available commercially in 1945, after some alterations to the spring, although it was relatively unsuccessful until a public demonstration in Philadelphia’s Gimbels department store, in the United States, where the toy became an instant hit and sold out within an hour or two.
The name ‘Slinky’, meaning ‘sleek and graceful’, was given by the inventor’s wife, Betty, who found the word, which she thought represented the invention, after paging through the dictionary.

Slinkies are traditionally made of flat steel wire, with a high carbon count and a diameter of 1.5 millimetres (0.0575 inches).
Plastic versions of the Slinky, that eliminate the safety hazard of electrocution, have been released, however cheap plastic imitations are also available, but they do not have the same abilities.
The colour of a Slinky is generally a silver metal colour, although plastic ones are commonly available in various colours including multicoloured, as in a rainbow.
Slinkies entered the Toy Hall of Fame in the year 2000, and a year prior to this they where depicted on a postage stamp.
Slinkies are not only a toy, but a tool used by physics teachers, as well as scientists in specific experiments, including multiple zero-gravity tests performed by NASA.

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