During the first half of the 20th century, the best way to see someone use a hula hoop was to watch Chinese acrobats twirl multiple hoops on their arms, legs and torsos. The 76-year-old also built a large family. There is a problem with your email/password. With Dorothy Kilgallen, John Payne, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf. Richard Rich Knerr co-founded the Wham-O company, which specialised in fun products such as Silly String and the Super Ball. Co-Creator of Frisbee and Hula Hoop Dies at 82 : NPR The cause was Alzheimer's disease, his wife, Suzy, said. The domestic size sold 20m. Within four months, 25 million hoops had been sold, according to Wham-O, and hooping was an integral part of American youth culture. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin I found on Findagrave.com. Melin and his wife, Suzy, became aware of children in Australia and elsewhere around the South Pacific playing with a bamboo or rattan ring by swinging it around their hips. Mr. Melin (pronounced muh-LIN) once bought a truckload of oysters from Texas in hopes of starting a raw bar in California modeled after those he had seen in New York. This browser does not support getting your location. Nonetheless, Hula-Hoops remain the most extraordinary US global imposition - travelling faster in two years than Coca-Cola in decades. Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Melin, known by his childhood nickname Spud, formed Wham-O with a friend, Richard Knerr, in 1948, while they were working for their fathers and attending the University of Southern California. Magic Window (1971), two 30 by 30 centimetres (12in 12in) oval plates of heavy clear plastic, with a narrow channel between them containing "microdium" (glass) crystal sands of varying colors that created complex patterns when shifted. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Along with his wife, Melin is survived by five daughters, Linda, Sally, June, Carol and Della; one brother, Tom; and 11 grandchildren. Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hula-hoop-patented, Marvin Miller elected first full-time MLB Players Association executive director, Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler hits #1 with Ballad of the Green Berets, Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson begins, Jim Morrison is charged with lewd behavior at a Miami concert. Wham-O was also responsible for a few ideas that did not etch themselves into popular history as indelibly as the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop or the Superball.
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