National Slinky Day
Everyone loves a slinky, you’re gonna get a slinky, slink-Y, slink-Y, GO SLINKY GO! Send a slinky down the stairs for some good old-fashioned childhood fun.
Capitalize on nostalgia and childhood wonder by promoting Slinky sales and retro toy collections during August with user-generated content of Slinkys in action.
- Slinky stair challenges: encourage customers to share videos of their Slinkys descending stairs
- Throwback nostalgia posts: 'Remember when this was your favorite toy?' featuring vintage Slinky ads and customer memories
- DIY Slinky tricks and hacks: creative ways to play with Slinkys beyond the classic staircase
- Family fun day promotions: bundle Slinkys with other retro toys for back-to-school or summer fun packages
The Slinky was originally designed and sold in the 1940s. The inventor had accidentally knocked a spring off the shelf, and watched it ‘walk’ down a series of books, to a tabletop, and then to the floor where it neatly coiled itself. The creator, Richard James, had gone home to his wife Betty and said “I think if I got the right property of steel and the right tension, I could make it walk. “ It took the better part of a year, but he had done it. Making 400 Slinky units with a five hundred dollar loan, James and his wife had founded a company to make, and sell, this unique toy to the masses. With a dollar for a price tag, they were interesting, but not really a hit.
Until the fateful day, that they were granted permission to set up an inclined plane in the toy section of Gimbles Department Store. Within ninety minutes, they had sold all 400 of the units, with more being requested. Only a year later, the Slinky was introduced at the American Toy Fair, the largest gathering of businesses that produce, and market, toys to various stores.
Since then, the Slinky has been marketed around the world, with both plastic and metal finding placement around the world in various forms. During the Vietnam War, United States troops used them as mobile radio antennas, as have amateur radio operators ever since. NASA uses them in experiments on Space Shuttles, and teachers use them to simulate the properties of oscillation in waves.