Still Made in America---Wooly Willy!

[Tanuki]

(pictured above with the inventor)

http://www.americanprofile.com/article/35775.html

Every small town has its characters, but one magnetic personality in Smethport, Pa., (pop. 1,684), is famous nationwide for evoking smiles for more than half a century.

Wooly Willy is a shifty character full of disguises and funny faces. Sometimes he's bald, sometimes bushy-haired. He might wear a mohawk with a mustache, a flattop with muttonchops, or a ponytail and an eye patch.

The Wooly Willy character has entertained millions of children since 1955 when Jim Herzog conceived the idea for the toy while grinding magnets at his family's toy-making business, Smethport Specialty Co.
..........
And what a history. More than 75 million Wooly Willies have been sold along with more than 200 million magnetic toys with a cast of characters, including Dapper Dan, Hair-do Harriet, Betty Brunette, Fuzzy Wuzzy and Doodle Bug.

In the 1950s and '60s, Smethport Specialty Co. worked frantically to fill orders for the popular toys, running three shifts a day, even on Christmas Day. The company built a modern factory in 1965 on Magnetic Avenue and expanded the building three times.

Today, Wooly Willy is making another generation smile and is among 200 magnetic toys, games and puzzles manufactured by Smethport Specialty Co., now owned by Patch Products, headquartered in Beloit, Wis. (pop. 35,775).

.......

(I would say this is a blast from the past, but I still keep one of these in the waiting room of my office!)

[rockymountaindem]

1. Go figure

That's a small idea that went a long way. I assumed stuff like that had been around since the dark ages of phonographs and the Western Union man. I wouldn't have guessed the inventor would still be alive.

[ezgoingrl]

2. I love to play with these!

It's good to know that they're made in the good old US of A! :patriot:

[JordanSmith73]

3. Interesting

[WorseBeforeBetter]

4. Wooly Willy and Etch-a-Sketch...

just a couple of toys that kept me entertained on road trips. Back in the Dark Ages. :P