Richard Kneer: Death of the Legend behind the Hula Hoop and Frisbee

Richard Kneer: Death of the legend behind the Hula Hoop and Frisbee: It is certainly a sad day in the world today as the public becomes aware of the death of Richard Kneer. Until reading the call for this content, I had no idea who the man was, let alone what impact he made on the world with his two inventions, the hula-hoop and the Frisbee. Perhaps the reason he was not so well known is because we have all had these things in our lives for most of what we can remember, (and if you are young like me, all of it) and we have taken for granted that someone had to actually come up with the idea and market it to us

The Associated Press says that the plastic hoops began selling at 98 cents each back in 1958. The trend of trying to spin the hoops around various parts of the body, most notably the waist, disappeared as quickly as it came on, so for the time, hula-hoops failed. After everyone who wanted a hula-hoop had one, it was hard to keep selling the toy because it seemed to last forever. No one needed to purchase a replacement.

Also according to the Associated Press, soon after the hula-hoop craze ended, the Frisbee phase began. This round disc toy was released in 1957, the year prior to the release of the hula-hoop. It had a more intense impact as not only did people enjoy tossing the disc, but it proved to be an excellent dog toy, too. Due to the fact that dogs chewing on the Frisbees caused them to need replacing, along with the fact that people lost them so easily, the Frisbee did much better on the market than the hula-hoop.

So just how did Kneer get the inspiration for these toys? And what impact have the toys had?

According to the history of the hula-hoop, it all began when two friends, Richard Kneer and Arthur Melin created Wham-O out of their garage in Los Angeles in 1948. The pair was original marketing another invention, a slingshot developed for training birds. It earned the name Wham-O because of the sound that it made when the meatballs were flung at the birds. About.com says that the Frisbee's design was sold to Knerr by a man named Fred Morrison, who had been marketing it as the Pluto Platter. He earned over a million dollars in royalties for his design. The name Frisbee came from the combination of the two words Frisbie and Frisbie -ing. Marketing was a success because Knerr introduced Frisbee as a new sport.

Now, my only being 22 years old does not say much, but some of my most vivid childhood memories involve one, if not both, of these toys. Many nights, my dad and I would go play Frisbee in the field behind our house, with a glow-in-the-dark version of the toy. A good portion of time spent in my physical education courses going through elementary and middle school involved hula hooping. Every child will have some sort of memory of this toy, as the toys have become a household staple. With an economic price, and simplicity of the toy, children can get hours of entertainment and make memories to last a lifetime.