(It was later sold to Mattel, which then sold it to a group of investors.). By the summer of 1958, the Hula-Hoop, and its many imitators, took the nation by storm. Verify and try again. He gave company officials an impromptu lesson in how to use a rattan hoop imported from Australia. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. After all, the ball was unharmed. The History of the Frisbee Thanks for your help! [8] "Hula Hoop mania" continued through the end of 1959, and netted Wham-O $45million (equivalent to $418million in 2023[9]). Bubble Thing (1988), a flexible plastic strip attached to a wand, which was dipped in soap solution and waved through the air to create giant soap bubbles. But Headrick wasn't the only mad scientist on staff.Wham-O had a second secret weapon in Norm Stingley, a chemist who brought them a highly volatile compound his company had been working on. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. He was 82. Gender Male; Jobs. There was an error deleting this problem. Wham-O first tried to sell the disk as the Pluto Platter, an attempt to cash in on the country's fascination with unidentified flying objects. We strive for accuracy and fairness. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. ''Mr. (The name had been used since the 18th century, but till then was not registered as a trademark.) Sales skyrocketed, reaching 100 million before Mattel eventually bought out Wham-O. Melin, who had Alzheimers disease, died Friday in Newport Beach. He was 77. Wham-O was the comic book sound effect they assigned to their ball bearings hitting a target, and a good name for a company that specialized in launching projectiles: blowguns, throwing knives, and tomahawks followed. 1948: WHAM-O founded. TheSlip N Slide, Hacky Sack, and several others were also third-party ideas. Arthur Melin, the co-founder of Wham-O, which introduced fads like the Hula-Hoop and lasting diversions like the Frisbee, died on Friday at a care center in Costa Mesa, Calif. In 1958, they renamed it the Frisbee, either because that was the phoneticisation of the trade name as heard by Knerr on a college tour, or after Mr Frisbie, a US comic strip. 11 places in L.A. to get your creativity flowing. On this day in 1963, the Hula-Hoop, a hip-swiveling toy that became a huge fad across America when it was first marketed by Wham-O in 1958, is patented by the company's co-founder, Arthur "Spud" Melin. Hula hooping teens became an iconic image of the 1950s, and the fad grew when Wham-O began manufacturing a smaller version of the hoop for the younger set. They just banned Elvis Presley's hips from the Ed Sullivan show.' You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. "[My mother] and Spud's wife would demonstrate hula hoops in parks and recreation centers around the country," Chuck says. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. They were all about fun," recalls Richard's son, Chuck. Make sure that the file is a photo. In the 1960s they produced a US$119 do-it-yourself bomb shelter cover. His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, Decades of failures leave L.A. County facing up to $3 billion in sex abuse claims, China to scrap PCR test requirement for inbound travelers starting Saturday, Down to our final hill: Ski season (finally) winding down at Big Bear resorts, If Its a Small World isnt the best ride at Disneyland, what is? After selling more than 100 million Hula Hoops in 16 months, Arthur Spud Melin and Rich Knerr took a look at their books. Knerr and Melin devised a test of an early version of the hula hoop in 1958 by holding demonstrations at parks. Wham-O introduced the Hula Hoop in 1958 and was soon producing 20,000 a day. There was a problem getting your location. 10 Best Moments Between Arthur & Merlin A local barber suggested they sell the contraption. Arthur Melin, the co-founder of Wham-O, which introduced fads like the Hula-Hoop and lasting diversions like the Frisbee, died on Friday at a care center in Costa Mesa, Calif. Recalled in 1978 after it caused the deaths of two children, having sold approximately 2.5 million units. According to Ripleys Believe It or Not, in April 2004, a performer at the Big Apple Circus in Boston simultaneously spun 100 hoops around her body. The Frisbee was originally marketed under a different name, the Pluto Platter, in an effort to capitalize on Americas fascination with UFOs. WebEd Sullivan (2): Directed by Franklin Heller. But Spud and Rich knew good ideas were out there and were willing to listen.. Richard Knerr (19252008[2]) and Arthur "Spud" Melin (19242002[3]), two University of Southern California graduates who were friends since their teens, were unhappy with their jobs and decided to start their own business. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. The Frisbee was reintroduced in the late 1950s, this time as an athletic endeavor. Wham-O was also responsible for a few ideas that did not etch themselves into popular history as indelibly as the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop or the Superball. ''He said it would be huge. [6][7] 25 million were sold in four months, and in two years sales reached more than 100 million. But the connection was not coincidental to the success of the Frisbee, which found its earliest acceptance at Eastern colleges. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Wham-O eventually branched out from slingshots, selling boomerangs and other sporting goods. Hula Hoop mania took off from there. All Rights Reserved, Hula Hoop promoter Arthur Spud Melin dies. Knerr once had a baby elephant delivered to Melins wife, Suzy, after Melin went on an African safari without him. Both the Hula Hoop and Instant Fish sprang from Melins interest in other parts of the world. , It was difficult for dad to see his friends health decline, Lori Knerr says. The kinetic energy in the material was substantial: it could bounce over a two-story home. Just why Melin and Knerr changed the disks name to Frisbee in 1958 remains debatable. While visiting that continent he saw a little fish that buried its eggs in mud during the dry season. They thrived in a time kids functioned outside, with hits like the Frisbee prompting people to break a sweat. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). "They were like John Wayne and Ernest Hemingway all rolled into one. They bought a saw at Sears, Roebuck & Company on a monthly payment plan, set it up in a garage and began making and selling slingshots. The oft-told story behind the origin of the Hulu-Hoop is the tale of two childhood buddies named Richard Knerr and Arthur Spud Melin, the founders of Wham-O, who first heard of kids gyrating hoops around theirs waists for fun when a visiting Australian mentioned its popularity back home. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. By the summer of 1958, the Hula-Hoop, and its many imitators, took the nation by storm. They were buddies to the end.. Overview. He left behind a legacy of fun. Wham-O rebounded a few years later with the unusual spring of the SuperBall, made of a compressed plastic known as Zectron. Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. In 1955 inventor Fred Morrison began marketing a plastic flying disc called the Pluto Platter. It became the biggest toy fad in modern history. COSTA MESA, Calif. Arthur "Spud" Melin, co-founder of the toy company that introduced the world to the Frisbee, Hula Hoop and other faddish gems of American died this week after suffering a stroke in California. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. Retailers in the United States were skeptical, but the two sensed a hit. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Before the elephant arrived, he sent a telegram posing as his partner: Am sending live animal home, please feed it and take care of it until I get home. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Melin thought he could sell chunks of egg-embedded mud, instruct buyers to add water, and provide fish to delight the millions. One hundred million platters have been sold, and as Spud Melin hoped, they became a sport - the basis of the team game Ultimate, with world championships, and disc golf on 500 courses worldwide. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Andersons husband consulted Arthur Melin, a business acquaintance, about partnering with Melins company, Wham-O, one of the biggest toy manufacturers at the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Canada, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. A giant promotional specimen accidentally dropped from a 23rd-floor hotel room window, rebounded 15 floors and destroyed a parked convertible as it fell again. By 2006 Wham-O's product line included several groups of related items using licensed brand names. In 1962, they sold a limbo dance kit to take advantage of that fad; and in 1975, when the movie Jaws was released, they sold plastic shark teeth. The company's lines are also more complex, and grouped in related categoriesfor example, the Sea-Doo line (about a dozen products), several Slip 'N Slide variations, and a group of "lawn games". The childhood friends formed WHAM-O in 1948, as college students, when they began making and selling slingshots in a garage. Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hula-hoop-patented, Marvin Miller elected first full-time MLB Players Association executive director, Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler hits #1 with Ballad of the Green Berets, Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson begins, Jim Morrison is charged with lewd behavior at a Miami concert. Today, Wham-O is owned by the Aguilar Group, a private investment company, and still markets their trademark products. Its origins are disputed, but seem to have been in empty pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Company, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, tossed around the ivy-league campus of Yale - or Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst and Middlebury, each of which claims to be its home. Litigation, changing tastes, and corporate shrinkage would eventually undo Wham-O. So they marketed abroad, first in Europe, then everywhere, although Japan banned them as lewd, and the Soviet Union called them "an example of the emptiness of American culture". For example, Sea-Doo is a brand of personal water craft owned by Bombardier; Wham-O makes a Sea-Doo line of small inflatable rafts designed to be towed behind watercraft. He is survived by his wife and five daughters. WebArthur Spud Melin . based on information from your browser. WebThe hoop has been a popular children's toy for thousands of years, and the introduction of the Hula Hoop in 1958 by the Wham-O toy company has been documented by sociologists as one of the biggest fads ever to take hold in America and one of the most significant events of the time. 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. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. They just banned Elvis Presley's hips from the Ed Sullivan show.' But Melin and Knerr didnt seem wired for conventional products. But neither Arthur Melin nor Richard Knerr can lay any claim to inventing the thing. Add to your scrapbook. With plastic molding so inexpensive, hoop hobbyists didnt necessarily have any brand loyaltyparticularly if the generic was cheaper. He suggested they start making the toy at Wham-O, the San Gabriel-based company he had started with his childhood friend, Richard Knerr. Within six months, they sold 7 million Superballs. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. Failed to delete flower. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Arthur Melin Arthur Melin, the co-founder of Wham-O, which introduced fads like the Hula-Hoop and lasting diversions like the Frisbee, died on Friday at a care center in Costa We wanted it to be a sport.. In 1965, while Hula Hoops were still rolling out the door, Melin and Knerr introduced the Superball, a small rubber ball with an exceptionally high bounce invented and patented by chemist Norman H. Stingley. [28] If Spud and I had to say what we contributed, Knerr said, it was fun. Arthur Spud MelinAmerican Role Model | Marc Corsini In 1958, as Frisbee sales took off, an Australian toy manufacturer visited Wham-O's factory in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. Compared by many to be two sides of the same coin, Merlin and Arthur's relationship was at the heart of the show. Wham-O named them for the Hawaiian-dance-like hip rotations needed to keep them aloft. Air Blaster (1965), which shot a puff of air that could blow out a candle at 20 feet. Instead of counting a fortune, Wham-O was sitting on inventory they wouldnt clear for years. Knerr was also quoted in 1997 as saying the name came from a comic strip called Mr. The pair, who would remain lifelong pals and business partners, attended the University of A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Melin and Knerr shrugged. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Try again later. Arthur Melin, the co-founder of Wham-O, which introduced fads like the Hula-Hoop and lasting diversions like the Frisbee, died on Friday at a care center in Costa Mesa, Calif.He was 77 and had lived in Irvine, Calif. The deal fell apart: That same year, they wound up selling their fun factory for $12 million to Kransco, an outfit that would later market Big Wheels. Please enter your email and password to sign in. By 1994, when Mattel purchased Wham-O, the San Gabriel factory was down to a skeleton crew keeping up production of only a handful of products. She didn't know what she was going to do with it.. I remember being so proud when that toy was banned from my school.
Capricciosa Guam Seafood Spaghetti Recipe, Articles A