PRINTER'S NO. 1350
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
268
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY J. WARD, MENSCH, MARTIN, FONTANA, DINNIMAN,
HUGHES, LEACH, TARTAGLIONE, BLAKE, BROWNE, YUDICHAK, PITTMAN,
AUMENT, SCHWANK AND BAKER, OCTOBER 30, 2019
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, OCTOBER 30, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of November 2019 as "Slinky Toy Month" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, The Slinky has been used as a toy by millions of
adults and children around the world since it was invented by
Richard James in 1943; and
WHEREAS, Richard James developed the Slinky for the Navy as
an anti-vibration device for ship instruments; and
WHEREAS, Although the Navy did not use the device, Mr. James
made it into a toy and began to market the product when it was
demonstrated at Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia on
November 27, 1945; and
WHEREAS, Mr. James and his wife, Betty, founded James
Industries and initially produced the toy in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Betty discovered the name for the toy by searching
the dictionary and selecting "slinky," a word of Swedish origin
which means sleek and graceful. According to the New York Times,
Betty chose that word "because she thought it best described the
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sinuous and graceful movement and the soft sound of the
expanding and contracting metal coil her husband, Richard, had
fashioned"; and
WHEREAS, The Slinky was introduced at the American Toy Fair
in 1946; and
WHEREAS, Betty, the owner and president of James Industries,
relocated the company to Hollidaysburg, Blair County, during the
1960s where the Slinky has been manufactured ever since; and
WHEREAS, Betty commissioned the development of the toy's
memorable and catchy jingle, "It's Slinky," which aired on
television in 1962; and
WHEREAS, During the Vietnam War, United States soldiers used
Slinkys as mobile radio antennae; and
WHEREAS, In the 1990s, nearly 90% of the United States
population recognized the Slinky; and
WHEREAS, The Slinky was featured on a United States postage
stamp in 1999, has appeared in movies and has been the subject
of numerous reports in the national press countless times; and
WHEREAS, In 2000, the Slinky was inducted into the National
Toy Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, The Slinky was named to the Toy Industry
Association's 2003 "Century of Toys List", the 20th century's
top 100 most memorable and creative toys; and
WHEREAS, According to a 2015 Time Magazine article, more than
300 million Slinkys have been sold worldwide; and
WHEREAS, In 2018, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission approved the development of a State historical marker
to be placed in Clifton Heights, Delaware County, where early
production of the Slinky occurred after the factory moved from
Germantown; and
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WHEREAS, The Slinky is an icon of American creativity and
Pennsylvania manufacturing; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of November
2019 as "Slinky Toy Month" in Pennsylvania.
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