The toymaker who invented the Hula Hoop and Frisbee has died aged 82.
Richard "Rich" Knerr co-founded the Wham-O company, which specialised in fun products such as Silly String and the Super Ball.
Mr Knerr, who retired when he and company co-founder Arthur "Spud" Melin sold Wham-O in 1982,
Richard Knerr who invented the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee
died this week after suffering a stroke in California. Mr Melin, his lifelong friend, died in 2002.
"The company motto was 'Our Business is Fun,' and that really describes both Dad and Spud," Mr Knerr's son, Chuck, said. "They were two boys who just loved to have fun."
In 1958 when they began selling round, plastic hoops at 98 cents apiece. People snapped them up by the millions, as seemingly everyone attempted to spin the things around their waists, hips, necks or knees. The fad ended just as quickly, however.
Soon afterwards the Frisbee, which had been introduced the year before, began to catch on and not just with people.
A dog called Ashley Whippet became a celebrity in the 1970s because of his ability to chase and catch the things.
As dogs tended to chew up Frisbees ,and people tended to lose them, they proved a much more lucrative product for Wham-O than Hula Hoops had.
AP