Can aimless summer fun still sell in the age of hyperscheduled kids and achievement-oriented parents?
By Joanna Weiss | August 21, 2005 A LITTLE MORE THAN 40 years ago, a Southern California chemical engineer approached a local toy company called Wham-O with an idea. It stemmed from a substance he had stumbled on by accident while designing an industrial valve. It didn’t teach anything, or require batteries purchased separately, or appeal to a carefully-studied demographic group. But formed into a ball, it bounced–higher than anyone had seen a ball bounce before. The folks at Wham-O, who had an eye for this sort of thing, signed him up. After some tinkering, some practice play, and a christening with the requisite catchy name, Wham-O introduced the Superball to the world in 1965. By the end of the year, some 6 million were sold, and the company could boast another giant success. Wham-O had already introduced the Frisbee in 1957 and the Hula Hoop in 1958, and would later give the world Slip ‘N Slide, Silly String, and Superelastic Bubble Plastic. It was a hothouse for simple, iconic, r
