Dead-O

Richard Knerr, the co-founder of Wham-O has died at the age of 82.

Founded as a mail-order slingshot business in 1948 by childhood buddies Rich Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin, Wham-O was a perfect blend of California entrepreneurship, space-age optimism and postwar manufacturing methods.

The company didn’t really take off until 1957, after the partners spotted a man on the beach throwing a plastic flying saucer. They bought the idea for $1 million, changed its name from the Pluto Platter to the Frisbee and had an instant hit on their hands. A year later, inspired by a friend’s account of seeing Australian children twirling wooden hoops around their waists, Knerr and Melin made a plastic version, dubbed it the Hula Hoop, and sold 100 million in 16 months. Wham-O developed between 40 and 50 new toys a year. Some were flops, like the $119 build-your-own bomb shelter, but others, like the Superball, were incredible hits.

When Knerr and Melin sold the business to Kransco in 1982, the company crashed. It was bought by Mattel, which killed off nearly all the products except the Hacky Sack, the Hula Hoop, the Frisbee, Silly String, and the Slip ‘N Slide.

To recap: Toys. Fads. Dead.