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Richard James was born
Richard james was born in 1914. -
Period: to
Richard & Betty James
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Betty James was born.
Betty James was born on 13-Feb-1918. -
Marrige
Richard and Bety James got married on April 6, 1940 -
Idea of slinky was born.
Richard James was aboat an engineer on a Navy ship when a tortion spring popped loose and fell end-over-end across the floor and Richard thought that he could make a tiy out of this. -
The production begins.
Richard James told his wife that he should make toy and they started production in 1945 -
Slinkys went viral.
The first time slinkys were sold to the public was at Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and he was nervous that they wouldn't sell and so he gave his friend a dollar to buy one but he didn't have to. They sold out in 90 minutes. There were 400 of them at the store. -
Kids
Richard and Betty James had 6 kids. Their names are Tom, Libby, Chris, Sue, Pete, and Becky. -
Name Change.
1956 The company changes its name from James Spring & Wire Company to James Industries, Inc. -
Richard joins a cult
Richard wasn't happy with his religion and joined a cult called Bolivia to work for his religious group. -
Fun Fact
Over 75?% of Slinkys are imported. -
Fun Fact
In 51 years, enough slinky wire have been made around the world to circle the Equator over 126 times. -
Quote from Betty James herself.
"We like it the way it is. Slinky is like a child, and you don't exploit your child. " -
Their Deaths
James died in 1974 in Bolivia. Betty James died on November 20, 2008, age 90, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Betty died from heart failure. -
Another Fun Fact.
The only change to the slinky is they bent the edges so people wouldn't hurt themselves. -
Yet Another Fun Fact.
Slinkys take 80 feet of wire just to make one.
