Frisbee turns fifty

Happy 50th birthday to an American icon.

In the beginning, there was a metal popcorn can lid. Walter "Fred" Morrison and his future wife, Lucile Nay, tossed one at a Thanksgiving Day family gathering in 1937 and thought it was good. They tried pie tins and cake pans next. They even sold some. Then World War II broke out. Morrison served as a fighter pilot. After the war, he used his newfound knowledge of aerodynamics to build a better disc. Essential to Morrison's creation, American research and development during the war had refined the manufacturing process of a durable and lightweight material: plastic.

At the suggestion of a stranger who spotted him flipping his disc in a Los Angeles parking lot, Walter 'Fred' Morrison took his 'Pluto Platter' to Wham-O Manufacturing Inc. On Jan. 23, 1957, Morrison and his wife signed over all rights to the toy in exchange for quarterly royalty checks. Six months later, Wham-O began marketing the discs under a new name: Frisbee.

According to the timeline at the end of the story, Wham-O submitted the patent application for the Frisbee's design on July 22, 1957. The world has been a better place ever since.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on July 17, 2007 to Society and cultcha