Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Pie


Sometimes little gifts come your way in life. Maybe its that accidentally perfect cake (when there is no bloody reason it should be great), or your suggestion is actually listened to. Few enough gifts pass our way that we occasionally turn them down. Not so today! For today is the day the Frisbee was first sold.

On this day in 1957, Wham-O (wish I had a company called that) rolled out the first Frisbee flying disc. The Frisbee name was actually a contortion of the name Frisbie, of the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, William Frisbie Prop. His pies came in metal tins with the company's name stamped into the bottom. Local Teens would toss the tins in the air and eventually got good at tossing them and playing "Frisbie."

Sometimes around 1950 two entrepreneurs Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni came up with a moulded plastic version with much better aerodynamics called the "Flying Saucer". I'm liking where this going. The partners split up and Walter Morrison modified it some more and sold the gizmo to Wham-O as the "Pluto Platter". Lord. Anyway, the rest, as they say, is history. Who better than to have the company that brought you the Hula-Hoop, Super Ball and the Water Wiggle. Hmmm. Better that Heinz anyway.

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