Frisbee Turns 50

Summer is upon us. That means swimming pools, barbecues, and how could you forget, the Frisbee. We couldnt forget because this year the flying disc turns 50 years old, so we caught up with its inventor. This sensational flying saucer was invented by a man named Fred Morrison, who as a teen loved to experiment with flying objects: first popcorn lids, then cake pans. When he returned from some flying of his own as a fighter pilot in World War II, he produced a plastic flying saucer he called "the Pluto Platter." "We were selling that at fairs and drawing a lot of crowds. Wham-O saw us there," Morrison says. And Wham-O liked it a lot. About 50 years ago the toy company acquired the rights to Morrisons invention, and renamed it the Frisbee after seeing college students throwing pie tins from the now-defunct Frisbee Pie Company in Connecticut. ""When I found out that they renamed the Pluto Platter the Frisbee, I came off the wall. I thought that was the dumbest name you could come up with!" says Morrison. Wham-O says that after five decades, the Frisbee is still one of its best-selling products. "Thats because theyre so much fun, and its accessible to everybody. It doesnt matter how big your are, how tall you are, how short you are, how much money you have in the bank. Its like everybody can buy a Frisbee," explains Wham-O employee Dave Waisblum. Thats something that has surprised even its inventor. "Oh, who could predict the phenomenon. Its been a wonderment," Morrison says.