When was the Slinky invented?

The Slinky was invented in 1943. It was invented by accident by mechanical engineer Richard James as he worked on a spring to keep ship equipment safe at sea.

James accidentally knocked some samples of his spring designs off a shelf and noticed how one of them seemed to walk as it fell. He showed the spring to his wife and, together, they planned to turn his accidental invention into a toy. James designed a machine that would make the toy while his wife came up with the name.

The Slinky went on sale in 1945, and the couple made 400 toys to start with. Those 400 Slinkies sold out in a matter of minutes, and James and his wife knew they had a proverbial gold mine on their hands.