With little explanation, he bought a one-way ticket to rural Bolivia, and joined what his wife called “an evangelical Christian cult” somewhere deep in the wilderness.By July, he’d severed all ties and disappeared.
Richard Thompson James (January 1, 1914 in Delaware, US – July 13, 1974 in Bolivia) was a naval engineer, best known for inventing the Slinky spring toy with his wife Betty James in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania in 1943. Elementary school students from Global Leadership Academy Southwest learn about sound with a metal slinky. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. They could either sell the business or run it themselves; he was cutting all ties. Of those that persevere, most live and die on the pulse of advertising and product release cycles, only to fade into obscurity after a few years of success. Betty James took over as CEO of James Industries and rescued the company from the debts left by her husband's generosity to his religion. ", Though she passed away at the age of 90 in 2008, Betty James’ efforts were recognized with an induction into the Toy Industry Association’s Hall of Fame.
Finally, after much negotiation, Gimbels, a department store in Philadelphia, agreed to include the units as part of its Christmas display; in November 1945, the Slinky debuted in the store’s toy section. It's a toy for regular people." TALKING TOYS WITH: Betty James;Persevering for Family and Slinky, The New York Times, Feb. 21, 1996 Armed with his new invention, James engaged his neighbors for a little product testing. if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; At one point she heard he was printing religious tracts. Betty James took control of the company and became the sole proprietor of James Industries LLC just as Slinky’s sales began to decline and creditors were clamoring for overdue payments.
/* fbq('track', 'PageView'); */ During the 1950s, however, quite a bit did. He’d been a philanderer. It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky! She poured through the dictionary for several weeks before finding just the right word -- slinky, which was not only a widely-used synonym for “sleek and graceful,” but seemed to her like a verbalization of the sound the toy made. She stumbled across the word ‘slinky’— which means sleek and graceful— while thumbing through a dictionary.
KenP, from the Straight Dope Message Board. Wondering what kind of sins we were talking about, I asked: “Did Richard have, ah, personal issues that led to his religious conversion?” Yes, Betty said.
“Come meet me at Gimbels in a few hours,” he told his wife, and marched out the door.
Although the Slinky company is now owned by Alex Brands Inc. of Fairfield, N.J., Slinkys are still made at the Hollidaysburg factory, near Altoona, on the same machine Richard James invented.
Turn your company data into content marketing people actually like. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? Finally, James decided he’d take matters into his own hands. The Invention of the Slinky, Priceonomics, Dec. 3, 2014 For a period of several years, she fully invested herself in the company’s operations: with her children under the watch of a caregiver each Thursday through Sunday, she spent late nights strategizing and trying to rebuild the family’s future. For the entirety of a year, he tinkered with various wire types and tensions in his free time.
Richard James, the inventor, was skeptical about how the Slinky would sell. After the United States became involved in World War II, James accrued a desk job at a William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia, where he was tasked with building tools for submarines and iron ships. By Christmas, James had sold 20,000 Slinkys. The Slinky will celebrate its 75th birthday in 2020. More often than not, it works itself into an impossibly tangled mess.
"What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound? "People have said to me, 'How was it being a woman in business at the time you started?
She’d skillfully navigated the old-school toy through five decades of flashy gadgets.She’d expanded the company’s product line, and even cracked a deal with Pixar to have the Slinky Dog make an appearance in Toy Story -- a move that had doubled the toy’s sales. The pride exuded by residents of Delaware County — the Philly suburb affectionately known as Delco — is so kinetic you can almost feel the energy shift when you cross the county border. Did the inventor of the Slinky join a cult in Bolivia?
James often appeared on television shows to promote Slinky. But he got it to run and he sold it for $25.". Do proceeds from sales of Slinkys still go to the cult?
Just before leaving, he’d presented Betty with a choice: she could liquidate the company, or assume sole ownership. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! The Slinky saw a colorful revival with the introduction of a rainbow-colored plastic version in the early 1970s.
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