Rebecca Stark is the author of The Good Portion: Godthe second title in The Good Portion series.

The Good Portion: God explores what Scripture teaches about God in hopes that readers will see his perfection, worth, magnificence, and beauty as they study his triune nature, infinite attributes, and wondrous works. 

                     

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Saturday
Dec152007

Vintage Christmas Images: Insist on Slinky

slinky57xmas.jpg

Yet another old Christmas ad, this one for Slinky Toys, with pictures of the Original Slinky, the Slinky Soldiers, the Slinky Seal, the Slinky Handcar, the Slinky Spiral, and the Slinky Dog. For Christmas 1957, you could place an Original Slinky, the Spiral Slinky or the Seal Slinky under the tree for only one dollar. The other pictured slinky toys would set you back two bucks.

I really like that Spiral Slinky. The other variations on the original are pretty silly, if you ask me. I remember the Slinky Dog from the movie Toy Story, but I still think it’s silly.

In one of the few photos of me as a toddler, I am holding a slinky. That photo would have been taken about 1957, so perhaps some child in Trailerville got a slinky for Christmas. (It wasn’t mine, because the only toys I had then were a little broom, a little red wooden rocking chair, and a piggy bank that I would soon drop and break into a million pieces.)

At the time of this ad, a good chunk of the resources from the Slinky empire were being funneled by Slinky founder Richard James into some sort of Bolivian religious organization. Details about the organization are sketchy. Some say it was a religious cult and others say it was just a group of Episocopalian enthusiasts. (Is Episcopalian enthusiasts an oxymoron?) Whatever it was, by 1960, Richard James had left everything behind, including his wife and six kids, in order to move to Bolivia. His company was near bankruptcy, but brave Betty James managed to turn things around, partly with the help of a new advertising jingle.

Do you remember the Slinky jingle? I’ll start it for you, and you see if you can finish. “It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, For fun it’s a wonderful toy. It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, It’s fun _______.” How’d you do?

Today, you can buy an Original Slinky for about $3.50 US or $5.00 Canadian and rest easy knowing that none of your money is going to fund Episcopalians, gung-ho or otherwise.

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Reader Comments (4)

"It's fun for a girl and a boy"

December 15, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterKim from Hiraeth

or is it "it's good for a girl or a boy?"

December 15, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterKim from Hiraeth

According to my source, your first answer is correct. :)

Now, can you remember the tune?

December 15, 2007 | Registered Commenterrebecca

You bet I can! (Tom and I just sang it together "Everyone knows it's Slinky!)

I can also sing the Pepsodent song, the Oscar Meyer song, and various other commercials from my childhood.

heheheh

December 16, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterKim of Hiraeth

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