January 18th, 2008
Obituaries are my favorite part of the newspaper. The New York Times today published an obit for Richard Knerr, co-founder of the company Wham-O. Without him, we might not have the Hula Hoop, the SuperBall, or the Frisbee (which had previously been called the “Pluto Platter” before Knerr bought the rights to it).
Not all of Mr. Knerr’s brainstorms succeeded. Among them were mail-order mink coats for $9.95, a $119 do-it-yourself bomb shelter and Instant Fish, an African import whose egg-laying ability could not keep up with product orders.
Check out this excellent obituary blog, Blog of Death.