The Slinky is a
toy made from a
coiled piece of
steel or
plastic. It looks like a
spring although the coils are
very thin. When set on one end it looks more like a
tube with thin
grooves. The Slinky was
invented in
1945.
For the
uninitiated, or for those
sadly forced to
grow up in a
ranch style house (ranch style meaning "
single floored", not "packed with
sour cream and onion flavor"), Slinkys, when
properly motivated will
descend stairs (alone or with an
au pair). Motovating them is
similar to starting
liquid flow in a
siphon—you
kinda have to get the Slinky started, then let
gravity take over.
Slinky's were originally made only from steel, but in the late '70s they came out with larger, lighter plastic versions as well.
If the Slinky had gone to college, it would have lived in the same dorm as Silly Putty™, Lite Brite™, and Sit-and-Spin™.