Posted: 13 Feb 2010 01:04 AM PST
On this day in ...... 1918, Betty Mattas was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Married while a student at Pennsylvania State University, Betty Jamesproduce the time-honored "helical spring" toy known for its ability to "travel down stairs end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum." (photo credit)Slinky, initially priced at $1 out of James' concern that it be accessible to low-income buyers. James served as chief executive officer of her family-owned business for nearly 4 decades. She retired in 1998, and in 2001 "became one of the few women inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame." She died last November at age 90. (right)
