![]() When Joseph McVicker was tasked with turning the company’s fortunes around, his sister-in-law Kay Zufall, a nursery school teacher, read that wallpaper cleaner could be used as a type of modeling clay, and tested the nontoxic material in her classroom. But by the 1950s, during the transition to cleaner heating fuels, there was far less demand for Kutol’s cleaner. In the early 20th century, Cincinnati’s Kutol Products was known for its pliable compound used for cleaning coal soot from wallpaper. Now owned by Mattel, over a million Magic 8 Balls are sold every year. Today, the Magic 8 Ball continues to respond with its 20-sided die that includes 10 positive, five negative, and five vague responses. Brunswick Billiards tweaked the design once more and replaced the crystal ball with a black eight billiards ball.Īfter ending its contract with Brunswick, Alabe Crafts went on to market the now-named Magic 8 Ball as a paperweight before repositioning it as a children’s toy, which launched its international popularity. In 1950, Chicago company Brunswick Billiards was looking for a promotional item to give to their customers and came across the Syco-Seer. Under the company name Alabe Crafts, the Syco-Seer’s design was further tweaked to a smaller tube with only one floating die inside a crystal ball. The Syco-Seer attracted the attention of Cincinnati store owner Max Levinson, who turned to his brother-in-law Abe Bookman to help with production. ![]() Thus inspired, in 1944, a grown-up Carter completed his version of a fortune-telling tool called the Syco-Seer, a liquid-filled tube with a window allowing a view of two floating worded dice. When someone asked a question of the “other world,” Mary would reveal the answer on the Psycho-Slate, as if the spirits scribbled it down themselves. Carter’s mother, Mary, would often use the fortune-telling invention the Psycho-Slate - a small chalkboard sealed inside a container - with her clients. ![]() Carter, was the son of a Cincinnati clairvoyant, and completely fascinated by her work. Since the 1950s, the Magic 8 Ball has been a consistent source of advice for all of life’s problems. Today, more than 300 million Slinkys have been sold, enough to circle the globe 150 times if stretched. In 1995, the Slinky Dog became a hot ticket item after it was featured in Pixar’s Toy Story, with 800,000 Slinky Dogs selling that year. The Slinky toy line expanded through the decades with plastic Slinkys and Slinky animals. She reintroduced the Slinky at a 1963 New York Toy Show. ![]() Betty took over the business, even mortgaging her home to keep it afloat. However, in 1960, Slinky sales began to decline when Richard left his family to become a missionary in Bolivia. Priced at $1, the Slinky was an immediate hit, with 400 Slinkys selling out in just 90 minutes. The toy was introduced during the 1945 Christmas season at a Gimbels department store in Philadelphia. Richard soon took that idea and designed a machine to coil 80-feet of wire into a 2-inch spiral, which Betty named “Slinky,” inspired by the flowing movement and distinct sound of the spring in motion. James told the story to his wife, Betty, who wondered if the industrial spring could be transformed into a toy. One day, Richard knocked a spring off a shelf and watched as it gracefully “stepped” from a stack of books to a table and then to the floor, where it landed upright. James was searching for a way to use springs to help sensitive equipment hold up in turbulent seas. In 1943, while stationed at a Philadelphia shipyard, U.S. As the famous jingle goes: “What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound? A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows it's Slinky.” But did you know the beloved toy was created by accident?
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