How did a baker inspire the invention of an outdoor toy?
William Russel Frisbee, a baker, discovered a clever market ing tactic in the 1870s. He featured the family name in relief on the bottom of the light tin pans that contained his companys homemade pies. The pies were sold throughout much of Connecticut, and sometime in the 1940s, Yale students began sailing the pie tins through the air and catching them. Ten years later, Walter Frederick Morrison, a flying-saucer enthusiast from California, designed a saucer-like disk for playing catch. The disk was produced by a company called Wham-O, and on a promotional tour of college campuses, the president of the company encountered the innovative Yale students. Shortly after, the disk was renamed the “frisbee.” What chewy treat was originally produced using chicle from Mexican sapodilla trees? After failed attempts to turn chicle into toys, masks, rain boots and bicycle tires, Thomas Adams popped a piece of it into his mouth and enjoyed the taste. He decided to add flavoring to the chicle, and sh
