Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/08/30/the-slinky-was-invented-by-acc.html
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Similarly, Silly Putty was the result of experiments to develop a synthetic rubber substitute to counter rubber shortages during World War II.
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In 1960, Richard left his family behind and joined a religious cult.
Which religious cult?!
It was in Bolivia. That’s all I can find right now.
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I learned about both the Slinky and Silly Putty from an awesome book called Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things which I’m happy to see is still in print!
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After dropping the coil, he could have gotten up, frustrated, and chased after it without a second thought.
But he didn’t, and that original slinky is still going today, leaving a bittersweet trail of destruction and happiness as it solves local crimes, makes friends, and gets into hijinks and misunderstandings whichever country it’s passing through, downhill all the way.
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Ah, ya beat me too it.
Ok - how about microwave ovens? Melted chocolate bar during testing with microwaves gave them the idea for one.
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The Church of the Deadbeat Father, Unreformed
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One that was hoping to get the money he had made from the Slinky?
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“[Richard James] died in 1974”
Or did he fake his death and go on to invent twisted ambient electronic music, cleverly adding a middle initial as his pseudonym to avoid suspicion?
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True grit!
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PREVIOUSLY ON Recyclable Clickbait Headline Subjects
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Watch the scene about 18 seconds in.
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Want.
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I’ll let you all in on a secret:
Everything mechanical engineers ever come up with starts as a toy.
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Let me get this right: He had the idea while at work, using employer-provided resources (work table, spring). How exactly did he retain the patent rights?
The Slinky could never be invented today. Corporations claim (by default) all of the intellectual property rights of anything and everything developed by their employees.
Also, he told his wife about an accident he had at his defense-contractor job during the war?! Today that would land you in a cell between Reality Winner and Chelsea Manning.
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The Slinky was invented by accident
I must remember to never call my cousin, Slinky.
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