Ultimate Top 3 Pop Culture Urban Legends - unless you know different!

We have decided to put together the ultimate list. We know we can't get everything right first time, so we are asking you to also add to the list if you think we missed something.

Just to explain definitions:

Pop Culture - shortened form of "Popular culture" is the culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — which are popular, well-liked or common at the particularly time period. Popular culture is deemed as what is popular within the social context — that of which is most strongly represented by what is perceived to be popularly accepted among society. With a world full of newspapers, magazines and internet as well as radio and television it is often defined or determined this way.

Urban Myth also known as Urban Legend - Bearing in mind that its not neccessary for it to derive in an urban area or a big city. Normally it involves a narrative and is alleged to be true, because its plausible enough to be believed it often keeps its legend status as and gradually snowballs as it becomes attributed to trustworthy secondhand sources.


#1 The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween special on October 30, 1938 and aired over the CBS Radio network. As it wasn't a commercial newtwork at the time there were no adverts and therfore it really did sound like a complete news bulletin.

The first half of the 60-minute broadcast was a series of news bulletins, which suggested to many listeners that a Martian invasion was in progress. Some fled their homes; others were terrified. The news-bulletin format was decried as cruelly deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the perpetrators of the broadcast, but the episode launched Orson Welles to fame.Directed and narrated by Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds.


#2 The ATM Reverse-PIN to trick a thief
The most-forwarded Urban Myth gave claim to some insight in the banking world on a reverse-PIN system and inside knowledge about the workings of an Hole-in-the-wall cash ATM.

The Urban legend claimed that there is a hidden safety feature whereby users can quietly alert police of an attempted robbery by entering their PIN (personal identification number) backwards. This has never existed and on paper its inventor claims it would reduce crime with widespread use, but the technology has yet to be implemented anywhere in the real world.


#3 Bill Gates due to Tax reasons has to give some of his fortune away - you can help
This logic-defying email hoax is now years old and still going strong as it breeds on peoples get-rich -quick appetite. As originally composed, the purported message from Microsoft founder Bill Gates promised thousands of dollars to each and every person who helped him test his new beta software by forwarding it to everyone they know - sounds like a chain letter to me. Further versions included dodgy news reports about mergers taking place between AOL, Microsoft, and Intel.

Of course rumours of Yahoo merging with Microsoft aren't a myth - well unless you know different!

Mamma Mia - Will Abba get more popular than the Eighties?

When i was at school admitting you liked Abba was like saying "Hey Bully-Boy, i fancy a beating". Yes no-one would dare admit in the school playground that it was a foot tapping good song from the top pop group.

A few decades later and the queen of pop Madonna has admitted that she wrote a grovelling letter to Swedish superstars Abba asking if she could sample their music on her latest single.
Madonna said: "They had to think about it, Benny and Bjorn. They didn't say yes straight away."

The movie "Mamma Mia" based on Abbas music is hitting the box office and having raving reviews. Wow Abba are now getting what they deserve and even the School bully has started download "Dancing Queen" on i-tunes!

It seems Abba are almost as popular today as they were in the late Seventies and early Eighties. In 2008 they really are suddenly Super Troopers in the modern world. Who would of thought that when Agnetha Faltskog bumped into Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad and Benny Andersson and his best mate Bjorn Ulvaeus got together that they would become the legend they are.

Abba became international superstars during the late 1970’s with a string of immaculately-crafted pop singles that, even by modern standards, seem to leap out of the speakers at the listener. Songs like “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo” and “Winner Takes it All” encompass everything thrilling about pop music: lush vocal harmonies, bouncy melodies with catchy choruses, and hooks galore all wrapped in a big, glossy sound that never fails to thrill. This magical sound made Abba one of the most successful pop groups of all time.

Simplicity is certainly there strength as the music sounds simple yet a very quick study reveals a much deeper combination of chords giving each song a hidden depth. Yet the name ABBA couldn't be any easier. Simply put : the first letter of their first name! Few groups personify pop music the way Abba does.

Although Abba gained their international fame quickly once they broke through in the mid-70's, it was a long climb to the top. All four members had a long and involved history in European pop music before they began performing together. The beginnings of Abba date back to the first meeting of Swedish songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. They soon became writing partners and began penning Swedish hits. During this time, they wrote songs for Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid ‘Frida’ Lyngstad. Soon enough, the two twosomes became a pair of married couples and began recording singles together in 1972, starting with piano-driven “People Need Love.”

Abba earned their breakthrough in 1974 when they won the Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo.” This driving pop tune compared a bad relationship to Napoleon’s famous defeat and boasted a big wall-of-sound production fuelled by guitar, piano and saxophone. It became a worldwide hit and went Top-10 in the U.S. Abba followed it up in 1975 with another U.S. Top-20 hit in “S.O.S.,” an ultra-catchy tune that contrasted keyboard-led ballad verses with a powerful guitar-driven chorus. Abba also continued to build their international fan base with classics like “Mamma Mia,” a pulsating slice of pop that highlighted a unique xylophone hook on its chorus.

In 1977, Abba scored their biggest international hit with “Dancing Queen.” This tale of a girl finding joy on the dance floor cleverly fused Abba’s frilly European pop style to an up-to-date disco beat to become a #1 smash in the U.S. It also topped the charts in several other countries, including England and Germany. Abba also hit the Top-15 that year with “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” a power ballad lamenting a love gone bad. The hits continued in 1978 with the early synth-pop of “The Name Of The Game” and “Take A Chance On Me,” the latter a danceable love song with unusual, rhythmic ‘stuttered’ harmonies. 1979 saw the group experimenting with disco once again on songs like the Top-20 hit “Does Your Mother Know?”

In 1980, Abba scored a surprisingly serious Top-10 hit with “The Winner Takes It All,” a bittersweet power-ballad about the end of a romance. The heart-tugging lyrics were a direct reflection of what was going on in the group: Both couples were in the process of splitting up. Abba continued on for a few more years as they developed a sleek, synth-pop style on albums like Super Trouper and The Visitors. They continued to score worldwide hits with danceable tunes like “Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight).” At the end of 1982, Abba brought an amazing decade of success to a close by splitting up.

Since then, both Agnetha Faltskog and Frida Lyngstad have enjoyed success as solo performers. Lyngstad scored a big hit in 1983 with “I Know There’s Something Going On,” a drum-driven pop tune produced by Phil Collins. Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have continued to work together as composers and found international success with their musical Chess, which featured a worldwide hit in “One Night In Bangkok.”

Meanwhile, Abba’s classic pop continues to weave its magical spell on pop fans everywhere and has been covered by artists as diverse as U2 and Sixpence None The Richer (including an all-Abba-cover EP from Erasure). All in all, Abba’s legacy of hits and their unerring knack for melody ensure that they will always be legends of pop music.

More recent times have seen even the Magic Madonna jumping on the Abba bandwagon using some great Abba backings to her recent track Hung Up. This of course takes Gimme Gimme Gimme. This is only the second time Abba have allowed another act to use their work.
"I had to send my emissary to Stockholm with a letter begging them and telling them how much I love their music," Madonna said.

"They never let anyone sample their music."

Songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have only allowed one other act to sample one of their tracks before, when the Fugees used part of The Name Of The Game on their 1996 track Rumble In The Jungle.

Star Trek 1966 : Retro Television

Back in 1966 after months of writing and bouncing ideas back and forth a teaser episode called "The Cage" was aired on September 1966. The story was about Captain Pike who was held prisoner and tested by aliens who have the power to project incredibly lifelike illusions. This was the very first airing of Star Trek and the following week a full episode was aired in the United States on NBC on September 8, 1966.

29 episodes later and many successful plot lines further Star Trek moved into cult status and still to this day has "Trekkie's" all over the world.

The first main episode aired on the 8th Sep 1966 tells the tale of the crew of the star ship Enterprise and that crew's five-year mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before." These phrases have last all the tests of time and are still famously attached to the show.

The original 1966-1969 television series featured William Shatner as Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura, James Doohan as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, and Walter Koenig as Pavel Andreievich Chekov. In its first two seasons it was nominated for awards as Best Dramatic Series. After three seasons, however, the show was canceled and the last episode aired on June 3, 1969.

If it wasn't for the popularity of the repeats it may never of returned. During the reruns it gained cult following. Originally presented under the title Star Trek, it has in recent years become known as Star Trek: The Original Series or as "Classic Trek" or "Vintage Trek".

All subsequent films and television series, except the Star Trek animated series of the 1970s, have had secondary titles included as part of their official names. A re-release of the series began in September 2006 with CGI "enhancements" as a high-definition "Remastered" edition. The first season has been converted to this and other episodes are still being remastered.

These remastered Star Trek episodes currently air in syndication while the originals appear on TV Land, G4 (TV channel), Sci Fi in Australia, The Sci-Fi Channel in the UK, in Poland on TV Plus and, additionally, on BBC2 in the UK, and other small stations, although these broadcasts are infrequent and irregular.

So how does the latest Star Trek compare. Well they both have there place, but for me and the nostalgia of the early episodes, it is there to love and enjoy for the next generation and beyond.

Remember Stickle Bricks?

Ahh Stickle Bricks - the poor boys lego.
As with Mecanno and Lego, Stickle Bricks are a construction toy primarily intended for children aged 1 and above
Stickle Bricks were invented by Denys Fisher in the late 1960's. The brand is now currently owned by Hasbro and they are currently manufactured by Flair Leisure Products plc along with etch-a-sketch.

Stickle bricks are colourful plastic shapes, normally a few centimeters long which has a brush of small plastic fingers on one or more edges, once these break it makes the brick useless.T hey're bright and attractive to look at, and easy to put together and pull apart. With a variety of shapes and sizes, the very young find it great fun to develop their dexterity and creativity. The fingers of adjacent stickle bricks can interlock, allowing them to be joined in various ways, so the principle is very similar to Lego. Standard sets of stickle bricks contain triangular, square and rectangular pieces. Most sets also include other types of pieces such as heads, wheels and triangles and squares.

The Stickle Brick tag line is "For little hands with big imaginations".

Sticklebricks are the perfect first construction toy for babies and toddlers and no doubt they will soon move on to Lego and Meccanno.

Over the years newer sets for different age groups were released. Sticklebricks actually develop with children, from Infant Builder Sets, through Junior Starter Set to Junior Builder Sets, with wheels and axles for even more creative play.

Scalextric : Retro Toys

Back in the 1950's at a toy fair, Scalextric has become synonymous with slot car racing the world over and is well established as a famous British institution amongst children and adults alike. As can be seen - it wasn't long before any themed car could get a look in - in this case the James Bond 007 Scalextric set....

Through the years Scalextric been owned by companies such as Tri-ang and Rovex Ltd, and in 1971 production of Scalextric and Hornby trains began from Westwood, Margate.

Production of Scalextric products began in 1957 out of Hampshire, England UK and the rest is history as they say.

Throughout its 50 year history, Scalextric models have evolved to become ever more technical and life-like, a trend set to continue into the future. Children and adults are fascinated with the thrill of racing around a track at speeds that you can only dream of - in scale of course!
By the mid-1950s, the models were modified to take small electric motors and the ‘Scalextric’ brand (‘SCALEX’-Electric) was born. Scalextric’s roots actually date back to 1952 when a small company introduced a range of metal bodied model racing cars which contained a unique type of clockwork motor under the trademark ‘SCALEX’.

Once the popularity of the sets increased around the 1960's we then saw the introduction of the plastic range of cars as the tinplate cars ceased. Can't imagine what health and safety would say today if they were still tin!

Subbuteo : Toys and Games

So how many of you have ever played Subbuteo? From early 1940's a love of soccer or football if you're English, has dominated generations from boyhood to manhood. When it was just in it's early stages it was never known as Subbuteo, instead it was just referred to as "the Hobby". Back then for legal reasons the Hobby was too generic and as a name could not be registered. It was found however, that the Latin name for the 'Hobby' bird is Falco Subbuteo… and from there onwards, 'Subbuteo' was born.

Subbuteo is even bigger than ever and fathers, mothers, sons and daughters will enjoy playing Subbuteo for years to come. We have Mr Peter Adolph to thanks for commercially launching the Subbuteo Table Soccer game in 1947 from his base in Tunbridge Wells, England. It was an instant success with fathers and sons.

According to the Hasbro site who currently produce the modern day game of Subbuteo, the original 'Assembly' set was made up of two cardboard teams, a celluloid ball and two metal-framed goals with paper netting. A playing pitch was not included, so the instructions advised recipients to "... mark your pitch (chalk provided) on an ex-army blanket" and thousands of people did just that.

The first sets were made up of two cardboard team sheets with printed players (which needed to be cut out), 20 small plastic bases for the outfield players, and two rectangular brown bases for the goalkeepers (with metal rods for control). The goal frames were assembled from metal wire (the crossbars were a separate piece), and the goal was finished with a card net. Players were also given a piece of chalk to keep score with.

Subbuteo in the sixties
Subbuteo released a range of new 3D plastic moulded figures, as well as a range of accessories, including floodlights and TV towers. Following the euphoria of the 1966 World Cup, Subbuteo mania was born, with factories across Europe now producing plastic men.

Subbuteo in the seventies
At the peak of Subbuteo's popularity in the 1970s, you could get over 300 teams - as well as a huge range of new accessories, including throw-in figures, corner kickers and stadiums. In a recent survey (2002) it was estimated that over 90% of fathers in the UK over 30 owned Subbuteo sets.

Subbuteo in the Eighties
In the 1980s there were nearly 7 million Subbuteo players worldwide and the company were producing over 750 kits. Andrea Piccaluga, table football world champion, had his flicking finger insured for £150 000.

Subbuteo in the Nineties
New development of a new, one piece moulded plastic base, still with the same iconic figures inserted into them were created in the 90s. With a huge fan base, flick-football fans throughout the world continued to play and build their squads.

Modern day Subbuteo
Now we have photo realistic players from some of the best clubs in the world, state of the art pitch, dream team stadium, collectors skill sets and advanced bases.

Alternatives
There have been a huge number of alternatives too over the years. Subbuteo cricket, Subbuteo rugby. Subbuteo 5-a-side football, even a far fetched subbuteo snooker, along with endless subsets of soccer sets like World Cup edition, Euro edition, Cup final edition and so on.

In conclusion
We have had years of fun with Subbuteo, My favorite Cameroon set has had the bottoms polished hundreds of times with Mr Pledge Furniture polish as they slide some much better - great tip from Skooldays.

Finally we're sure you have your stories to tell.....over to you

Breakfast at Tiffany's : Retro Movies

In the early 1960's a novel from 1958 was turned into a film that has lasted decades. The book was "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and the movie kept the name.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is the story of a woman making her way in the big city. The story isnt in any great depth but rich in characterization which may explain why its protagonist, Holly Golightly, has become Audrey Hepburn's most memorable screen persona. In the hands of director Blake Edwards, the film neglects much of the book's foreboding edge, but gains an unforgettable comedic touch which actually helps accentuate the darker moments.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is great entertainment and will be loved for generations to come. Famous for many movie themes such as the "Pink Panther", Henry Mancini's musical score and Hubert de Givenchy's gowns for Ms. Hepburn successfully uphold Capote's style when the story itself is forced to leave his writing behind. The movie is unusual, funny, thought provoking, serious, sophisticated and you could say it has a bitter sweet feel to it.

It truly lives up to 1960's fashion too, so if you love the swinging sixties, you'll love the atmosphere created within the sets and characters.

Janet and John or Alice and Gerry?

Many kids were brought up on Janet and John
You could say the old-fashioned way, but was it the best way
Innocence really did exist in these days.
Mabel O'Donnell and Rona Munro from New Zealand, and published by Row Peterson. Originally there wer known as Alice for Janet and Gerry for John.

Then James Nisbet bought the rights to them and republished the stories as Janet and John in the UK. Janet and John were portrayed as average English children, living a typical middle-class life, and the books consisted of stories that progressively incorporated key words needed in the development of reading skills.

These books were fully adopted by schools and became a major source for reading in the 1960's for school children.

In the early seventies, Janet and John’s straightforward and simple world was seen as being outdated and the books fell out of favour and were soon surpassed by the ladybird books of Peter and Jane.

The Peter and Jane Books : Vintage reading

The Ice-Cream man is always a main part of a child's summer holiday memories. This is a vintage Ladybird Book illustration from 'Happy Holiday' is from the Peter and Jane series.

This is an illustration from book 7a - Happy Holiday - The Ladybird Key Words Reading Scheme (The Peter and Jane Books). By William Murray; illustrated by J H Wingfield. Published in 1964.

They became known as a series in the Key Word Readers set. In the 1960s Peter and Jane seem to where the same clothes most days. Jane is usually in a white dress with a red ribbon in here hair. Later Peter and Jane are now 1970s children - Jane is most often in jeans; Peter plays around with a football rather than a cricket ball and they generally look scruffier.

The whole series was published with laminated boards for teaching in schools from 1983.

The books took them all over the country on innocent adventures and were always so beautifully illustrated for children to get lost in. Today it's sheer nostalgia for us oldies.

Here is a list of the sets to collect in order of release dates:

• 1a - Play with us - 1964 -



• 2a - We have fun - 1964 -



• 3a - Things we like - 1964 -



• 4a - Things we do - 1964 -



• 5a - Where we go - 1964 -



• 6a - Our Friends - 1964 -



• 7a - Happy Holiday - 1964 -



• 8a - Sunny Days - 1964 -



• 9a - Games we like - 1964 -



• 1b - Look at this - 1964 -



• 2b - Have a go - 1964 -



• 3b - Boys and Girls - 1964 -



• 1c - Read and write - 1965 -



• 2c - I like to write - 1965 -



• 3c - Let me write - 1965 -



• 4c - Say the Sound - 1965 -



• 5c - More Sounds to say - 1965 -



• 6c - Reading with sounds - 1965 -



• 4b - Fun at the Farm - 1965 -



• 5b - Out in the Sun - 1965 -



• 6b - We like to help - 1965 -



• 7b - Fun and games - 1966 -



• 8b - The big house - 1966 -



• 7c - Easy to sound - 1966 -



• 8c - Fun with sounds - 1966 -



• 9c - Enjoying Reading - 1966 -



• 10a - Adventure on the island - 1966 -



• 11a - Mystery on the island - 1966 -



• 12a - Mountain Adventure - 1966 -



• 9b - Jump from the sky - 1966 -



• 10b - Adventure at the castle - 1967 -



• 11b - The carnival - 1967 -



• 12b - The holiday camp mystery - 1967 -



• 10c - Learning is fun - 1967 -



• 11c - Books are exciting - 1967 -



• 12c - The open door to reading - 1967 -

1950's Fashion: Skooldays

A Patio Somewhere in Suburbia, originally uploaded by sunset flame.

Classic vintage colours and posing in this poster.
A Patio Somewhere in Suburbia where nothing ever happens.
Great fashion from the fifties.

The Fleece : Fashion for the 90's

Overnight it seemed shell suits went out and Fleece were havily in. Everything fleece was available, vests, jackets, pants, socks, toques. Worn by everyone from little kids to senior citizens to even your pets.

No more coats and jackats, or thick wooly jumpers, life was going to change in the 90's for all age groups, although the quality of many later fleeces was dubious, some getting heavily ingrained with last weeks meals, made them unattractive as old dressing gowns after one wash.

For all its negatives it must be recognised that the fleece is a useful lightweight warm garment, but it's worth paying a little more for a quality item in a subtle colour that retains its appearance after washing and wearing, rather than the cheap ones made out of recycled plastic bottles.

Fleece products are still currently worn by many and look here to stay for many decades to come. Fleece fashion is also on the rise, as the number and types of fleece garments available continue to grow. You can now find fleece clothing, outdoor gear, and fleece accessory items for men, women, young adults, children, and even for your pet!

So the 1990's has left something with us - a warm alternative to the grey granny knitted pullover of the 1970's.

Adam and the Ants : Pop Music

In 1982 the BRIT Awards gave the Best selling album award to an unknown group: Adam and the Ants for the album "Kings of the Wild Frontier"

Prior to the Ants, Stuart Goddard who called himself Adam, played bass in pub rock group Bazooka Joe, now primarily known as the band that headlined when the Sex Pistols played their first concert on November 6, 1975, at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. After witnessing this Adam immediately quit the band with the intention of forming his own, inspired by the Sex Pistols, thus the ants were formed for Adam.

Adam Ant had befriended some influential figures in the burgeoning London punk scene, most notably Jordan, who worked in Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX boutique store. The Ants eventually formed in early 1977 consisting of Lester Square, Andy Warren and Paul Flanagan.

After a difficult time with band members forming another group "Bow-wow-wow" the albums followed such as Dirk Wears White Sox. Then commericially significant was the 2nd album "Kings of the Wild Frontier" including the hits Ant Music. The 3rd album was probably there most successful with "Prince Charming". From that point on Adam started to gain such popularity that it was just a matter of time before the solo career took off.

Ben-Hur : Movies

Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur has to be one of my all time greats. This movie really hits all the right buttons, and its not just our opinion. In 1959 the 11 Oscars awarded to Bible Classic tale speaks volumes.

Critics claim that the 1959 Ben-Hur is arguably the greatest of all epics. Ben-Hur is a story of the friendship between two young boys. Eventually they grow up to be enemies and end up hating each other, one being Jewish and the other one Roman. The props and settings clearly show hours of research and the budget seemed to be endless in this 212 minute classic. This has been filmed 3 times and stands above the previous 2 by a mile.

One could easily assume "Ben-Hur" is a story from The Bible, and although this is not the case it was the intention when writing it as it wanted to realistically parrelel the time period. It claims and is one of the most powerful stories ever told.

Many elements were inspired and copied from the first two, filmed in 1907 and 1925, but with a vast improvement: special-effects. The props and filming wasn't as lethal in the modern day color version because of the technical improvements made in the late 1950's.
"Ben-Hur" was also known as "A Tale of the Christ" and is full of action and romance. There's also a tension between the two leads that could be interpreted as a love-affair gone horribly wrong, but this was toned down by the studio.

No doubt with Gladiator being a big vox office hit it's just a matter of time before this classic will have it's forth making, for now we cherish the 1959 version.

Rosie and Jim lunchbox

Adorable Rosie and Jim lunchbox with flask.

Featuring embossed design of The Ragdoll , with cheeky Rosie and Jim and DUCK!!
Aparently this fetchs good money as it's rare. Rosie and Jim, being two ragdolls, have no memory at all. Everything is new and exciting to them.
Rosie and Jim live i a secret little world where children decide what the adults should do.

Drainpipe Trousers : Fashion

Back in the late 50's and early 60's the beatles trousers were the thing to imitate. Every lad had a pair of drainpipe trousers. It all started back in England where the "Teddy boys" addopted it as part of there uniform.

The trousers were normally made of lightweight 100% worsted wool. The drainpipe pants were normally beltless and have no front or side pockets, only dual pockets in the rear. They normally came with open bottoms.
The black “Drainpipe” trousers gained its name due to the faact that it really looked like 2 drainpipes with chunky brogues or suede crepe-soled shoes.



In the 1950's the "Teddy Boys" made the look and fashion at the time an important factor to follow, instead of just having one's work or school clothes or Sunday best. This trend arose as young people's disposable income increased during the post-war years. Teddy Boy clothing consisted of: long drape jackets, usually in dark shades, drainpipe trousers, often showing brightly coloured socks or white socks.

They have made some revivals in various forms but will always be associatted with the 1950/60's Teddy boys.

Slinky - Blast from the past

From the Early 1940s this toy has been making its way down more stairs than an office worker working on the 50th floor!

How did it all start?
Well in 1943, a guy called Richard James, who was a U.S. Naval engineer stationed at the Cramp shipyards in Philadelphia happened to see a spring fall off a table and roll around on the deck. It was the fact that the torsion spring was seen by Mr James that got him thinking as that spring has no compression or tension. Mr James decided to make it into a toy for kids and so the "Slinky" was born.