One day, a spring fell from the desk of Richard James, an engineer and a dreamer. Its coils took a walk and so did Richard s imagination. He knew right away that he had stumbled onto something marvelous. With the help of his wife, Betty, Richard took this ordinary spring and turned it into a plaything. But it wasn t just any old trinket it was a Slinky, and it would become one of the most popular toys in American history.