Today’s Weekly Calendar Fun Fact:
Walter Frederick Morrison, the inventor of the Frisbee, was cremated in 2010 and his ashes were turned into a Frisbee by his family.
Walter Frederick Morrison, or “Fred” as he liked to be called, invented the Frisbee purely by accident. At a picnic in 1937, he and his girlfriend, Lucille, kept themselves entertained by tossing around a popcorn tin lid. They soon discovered that Mrs. Morrison’s metal pie tins flew better and were more durable.
While tossing around their pie tin at the beach, a passersby offered them a quarter for it. Having only cost them a nickel to purchase, the couple soon realized they had the makings of a lucrative business. They began selling their Flyin’ Cake Pans at beaches and parks throughout Southern California.
For years after, Fred increased his knowledge of aerodynamics and kept changing the design to make it fly faster and farther. At one time his flying disc toy had instructions for use printed right on it encouraging people to experiment. Other names for his toy were the Whirlo-Way, the Flyin’ Saucer and the Pluto Platter.
In 1957, Fred sold the rights to the Wham-O company, who specialized in toys and sporting goods. The following year, Wham-O changed the toy’s name to Frisbee because of the popularity of Yale students hurling Frisbie Pie Company tins for sport. And, thus, the legendary toy of both men and dogs was solidified.
Mr. Morrison passed away in 2010 with implicit instructions that his ashes were to be molded into a Frisbee. It wasn’t just one though. A series of Frisbees were made from his ashes and distributed among family members.
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Now that you know about the history of the Frisbee, check out these awesome trick shots in the video below.
Frisbee Trick Shots Vid Courtesy of Brodie Smith.
You have got to be kidding me! Too funny! Interesting history. How on earth do you find these things!
Right?!!!? I happen to love oddities and random facts so most of the time it’s something that is already on my brain and I have the urge to research it further. Thanks for reading!