This is the original Slinky TV commercial. Accept no substitutes

Originally published at: This is the original Slinky TV commercial. Accept no substitutes | Boing Boing

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Someone has to:

ETA: Oops, didn’t see this was part of the original post.

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I just know that before they crammed in that clumsy lyric the original went:

“It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, a Hell of a Wonderful Toy”

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The original Slinky commercial was for mid-century American Capitalism what Eisenstein’s films were for early Soviet Communism.

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That’s quite the stretch… one worthy of a Slinky, a Slinky…!

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That screenshot is the coolest thing about a slinky.

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for fun it’s a wonderful toy!

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Every time I see “Log-on the Internet!” I substitute “Log! On the Internet!”

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I recognize those stairs, only now as an adult I realize that they must have been custom-made for the commercial. Now I know why Slinkies never went down real stairs half as well.

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My dad used to tell me that he worked at Bamberger’s (an old time department store) in Newark, NJ and remembered when the Slinky was introduced there (likely a job he got when he returned from WWII).

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“My patents didn’t believe in toys. … We had part of a Slinky. But I straightened it.”

Source: Youtube clip from Ghostbusters, film, 1984, clip posted by Youtube user Brownboy Picturehouse (indie film site Milwaukee, Wisconsin), on 2019 12 18

Slinkies have a wonderful sound and are both a fun and terrible toy. Finding stairs that they worked on is near impossible, but building stairs out of blocks and books- that’s a fine days worth of work and fun. That sound though, that is what is wonderful.

As for logs, logs are great toys! My kids were like junior Log Ladies. Both my kids played with a log when they were younger. My eldest used to talk to a log that she carried around with her. My youngest used to take one particular log around the preschool to give it a tour. On my work days, my youngest just wanted to be next to me, but when they wanted to play in an area I wasn’t working they would sometimes bring the log over to keep an eye on me. Neither saw the Spumco Log animation or Twin Peaks. I have a few lovely pictures of that weirdness. I am hopping they discover Twin Peaks on their own, and I hope I can find those photos to show them.

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My favorite childhood Slinky activity was the hand-to-hand thing. Very soothing both physically and aurally. In later years I liked to hold the Slinky in the air until it reached maximum stretch. I’d put the microphone of our tape recorder into the bottom end, then tap and wiggle the Slinky. It made cool science-fiction sounds.

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My Slinkys usually ended up like this:

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id buy that for a dollar GIF

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Modern Art.

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Ah, Ren and Stimpy! Creative comedic genius at work with Crisfalusi’s frenetic wit and art.

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I love how they just took a nearly 10 second instrumental break in the middle of the song with no voiceover, nothing. Was commercial time free back then?

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This pretty much sums up the past few years - staying alive, going nowhere…

Needs bell bottoms.