In case you didn't know, the Slinky was invented by a Naval engineer (Richard James), in 1945. He was in charge of finding ways to more effectively move cargo on and off ships. He accidentally knocked one of their springs off an inventory shelf and when it hit the floor and started going down a few steps, it did its Slinky thing and Richard was mesmerized; he was also late for dinner. 😁
He and his wife, Betty, decided to use what they'd learned to build a toy. The biggest problem being that due to the war, metal prices were very high, but they thought the concept was too good not to run with the idea quickly.
When they first demonstrated their product at the American Toy Fair in 1946, it sold out in 90 minutes when they were supposed to be there for two days. Buyers from major toy department stores were stopping by their booth to see what the fuss was about. It was a great kind of overwhelming.
The Slinky was so successful that Richard and Betty were able to pay off their investors in months, not years. Adjusting for inflation, they sold $6 billion worth of Slinky's in ten years. Richard was a phenomenal inventor, but Betty was the head of the operation; she could pretty much run any company in the country, she was that good. She ran the company all the way until she was 90 years old when she died of congestive heart failure.
Richard and Betty could've been filthy rich pretty much any time they wanted as companies were constantly trying to buy them or at least buy rights to Slinky. The money wasn't their driver. They loved kids and saw where toys were getting too expensive for low-income families, so they created a toy that cost less than $1.50 (they started off at $1) and fought every year to keep the costs low.
Thanks Betty and Richard. What a tremendous legacy!