January 18, 2008
HEAVEN JUST GOT WAY MORE FUN:
Man who gave Hula Hoop to the world dies (Sam Jones, January 18, 2008, Guardian)
The man who unleashed the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee on the world has died. Richard Knerr, co-founder of the Wham-O toy company, died on Monday at the age of 82. His wife, Dorothy, told the Los Angeles Times that he had suffered a stroke and died in hospital.Posted by Orrin Judd at January 18, 2008 7:52 AMKnerr founded Wham-O with his childhood friend Arthur "Spud" Melin in 1948. The pair made sporting goods such as catapults, boomerangs and crossbows, before branching out into less harmful territory with products such as the Superball, the Slip 'n' Slide water slide, and Silly String.
ah man, now I've gotta suppress horrific visions of a large bearded man hula-hooping.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at January 18, 2008 10:14 AMI thought Norville Barnes invented the hula-hoop.
Posted by: Bryan at January 18, 2008 12:08 PMYour except doesn't mention the most important and famous Wham-O product of all, although the original obituary does.
And my favorite Wham-O toys were the Superballs. A handful of the "mini" ones in a small room could be most entertaining, almost as fun as playing craps with the SuperDice.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at January 18, 2008 12:38 PM