UFO World Cup Frisbee Dog Championship

I took a ride over to Daytona Beach on Saturday to watch some incredible athletes run down some flying discs and make some truly breathtaking catches. The humans were fun to watch too.

In the introduction to the Frisbee chapter of my WHAM-O Super-Book I write:

List all the toys that have sold for over 50 years and you’ll get a 'who’s who' of classics. Whittle that list down to toys that have sold over 200 million copies and only a few elite playthings remain. These are toys that, if shot in space and discovered by some alien race, would help define our human experience. Human experience? Ask yourself which of those playthings is enjoyed by a different species on planet Earth and only Frisbee remains — loved by dogs, humans and maybe even some creatures in a flying saucer somewhere.

This was my first canine Frisbee event and it was a blast. Yes, I sold some books and that's why I went, but you can be sure that I'll be back with my dog-loving daughters next year. Enjoy the pics!

WOW #3

Our WHAM-O of the Week is an oddity from 1960. The "New 6 in 1" Magic Record played six different songs "randomly" because it had six different groves cut into the its vinyl surface. If you're under 35 years of age, you're lost right now, but for those of us who remember stacking nickels on our record player's arm to keep it from skipping, this elicits smiles. My favorite part is the the "needle" chasing the train on the "track." Get it?

First Review

American Profile had nice things to say about WHAM-O Super-Book. CLICK HERE FOR THE REVIEW.

W.O.W.

The WHAM-O of the Week is the "canned fun" that was The Nutty Knotter! This twisted magic trick novelty came out in 1966 and promised "frustratin' fun." The object was to make a knot appear in the cord “like magic” through a series of single-hand moves made while holding the end of the rope with the wooden knob. Why the other end had a 2-inch-round, fanged-tooth, shrunken head was anyone’s guess. It came with a ten-page instruction booklet that started with a basic move and progressed to more advanced tricks, some even involving two hands and two Nutty Knotters... because who could own just one?

WHAM-O of the Week

The WHAM-O Super-Book will show up in book stores next week and so I think back to all the fun I had researching this thing. A highlight for me was visiting WHAM-O's headquarters in Emeryville, CA, just outside of San Francisco. WHAM-O's Chris Guirlinger was my gracious guide and as he showed me to a cubicle where I set up my laptop and scanner, I was very excited. Weeks earlier, as we planned this visit over the phone, he told me that I would have full access to the company archives! When he led me to the six long file cabinets full of fun, I knew immediately that I hadn't given myself enough time. Six decades of history and hilarity were in those cabinets, and a number of times I got lost in the past and had to jar myself back to work. As I say in the introduction of the WHAM-O Super-Book:

Rich Knerr and his lifelong friend and WHAM-O partner, Spud Melin, squeezed every drop of fun they could from life and it showed in all that they gave us. Their TV ads were fun. Their print ads were fun. Their hit toys were fun. Their fads, and even their flops, were fun.

With that in mind, I'm starting a new feature here called WHAM-O of the Week, or W.O.W. I'll share some a little-known WHAM-O oddity that I found and scanned and a brief description for your head-scratching pleasure. Enjoy these sneak peeks in the months ahead and be sure to check out the book for the full effect fun!

Modeled after its wildly successful Super Ball packaging, the Turbo-Tube label was action-packed and the toy was ahead of its time. Released in 1966, it was 26 years ahead of today's popular X-zylo toy. One thing I love about WHAM-O's packaging from the 1960s, when the company was in its heyday, are the gorgeous illustrations that it commissioned. The other thing that jumps out (beyond the glistening purple ring, of course) is the copy.

AMAZING SPACE LIFT CHAMBER!
ANTI-GRAVITY ACTION!
FLIES LIKE MAGIC!
GYRO-ACTION!
PRECISION-CONTROLLED FLIGHTS!

All this on a 5" x 5" label and all for just 98 cents.