Inventor of a well known toy dies!

[oldmunchkin]

MONROE, Utah (AP) - Walter Fredrick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died. He was 90.
State Rep. Kay McIff, an attorney who once represented Morrison in a royalties case, says Morrison died at his home Tuesday. McIff is from Richfield, Morrison's original hometown.
Morrison sold the production and manufacturing rights to his "Pluto Platter" in 1957. The plastic flying disc was later renamed the "Frisbee," with sales surpassing 200 million discs. It is now a staple at beaches and college campuses across the country and spawned sports like Frisbee golf and the team sport Ultimate.
Morrison co-wrote a book with Frisbee enthusiast and historian Phil Kennedy in 2001. Kennedy released a brief biography about Morrison on Thursday, wishing his late friend "smoooooth flights."

I do think we have all flung one of these around at some point in time. If nothing else, we have flung one for the dog to catch!

[termite]

Is it really an invention? Surely people were flinging around paint tin lids and the like long before the frisbee (which is basically what a frisbee is).

[oldmunchkin]

Probably, but he was the one that marketed it.

[Timbuk2]

Is it really an invention? Surely people were flinging around paint tin lids and the like long before the frisbee (which is basically what a frisbee is).

It's a little bit more than just a flat disc like a paint tin lid.

The Frisbee relies on exactly the same principle of flight as the aerofoil cross section of a wing on an aircraft.

The shape is such that the surface area on top is greater than that underneath. This means that with forward motion (ie during flight) less air molecules pass over the top of the surface than underneath. This creates low pressure on the top surface area which sucks the frisbee (or wing) upward.

The spin induced when the frisbee is tossed creates stability through the gyroscopic effect.

So with the combination of spin, forward motion and the aerofoil cross section, you have a simple plastic disc which can fly smoothly over a great distance. It is an ingenious idea, and so simple in design.

Try tossing a paint tin lid and see how far it goes in comparison.

[ar81]

So his merit was to bring aerospace era to dogs??

[Ominous Gamer]

ack! black text!

[EyeKhan]

I do think we have all flung one of these around at some point in time. If nothing else, we have flung one for the dog to catch!

RIP dude. I love frisbees. Did he get rich from them?

[oldmunchkin]

RIP dude. I love frisbees. Did he get rich from them?

Morrison sold the production and manufacturing rights to his "Pluto Platter" in 1957. The plastic flying disc was later renamed the "Frisbee," with sales surpassing 200 million

Hope so but doubt it!

Buy hell we all know the Frisbee

[oldmunchkin]

I onhy posted this because we all know what it is!

[EyeKhan]

Hope so but doubt it!

Buy hell we all know the Frisbee

I bet he didn't. But I'll say the frisbee is as ubiquitous in the US as apples and tap water. You're not allowed to enter highschool without having thrown one at least ten times.

[coinich]

The name wasn't even his; it was added by the company he sold them to who renamed them after a popular pie tin company who's tins were often used for the same reason.

[termite]

Actually we did quite well with the old Raffles paint tin lid, the ice cream tub lid was pretty aerodynamic too.

Clearly you have crap paint tin lids in Ingerland and you have issues because of it.

[oldmunchkin]

The lids off of 5 gallon buckets also worked quite well!