January, 1957 – Wham-O Produces Its First Plastic Frisbees
The story of the first Frisbee starts with someone enjoying a delicious pie. Well, that part can be assumed at least — because used pie tins from the Frisbie Pie Company of Connecticut are said to be predecessors to the modern plastic toy. According to popular legend, in the late 19th or early 20th century, students at Yale University started tossing the empty pie tins to each other as a game, often yelling “Frisbie!” as they let them rip.
Then, in 1948, inventors Walter Morrison and Warren Franscioni created a plastic disc called the “Flyin-Saucer,” a playful nod to America’s newfound fascination with UFOs. In 1955, Morrison (having split with Franscioni) reimagined the disc as the “Pluto Platter.” He demonstrated it at the Los Angeles County Fair, where it caught the attention of the Wham-O toy company, which bought the rights and rolled out the first mass-produced models in 1957. Aware of the Frisbie pie tin-tossing trend that was still going on, Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee a year later, and the rest is history.
In 1955, Fred Morrison sold his Pluto Platter in a colorful bag with equally colorful copy. Note the not- so-safe suggestion to “Use bag for space helmet if head fits.”
—
‘I like playing frisbee. it is the only sport
where you can thrown something at a person and it’s okay.’
-demetri martin
—
source credit: nicenews
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I didn’t know about the Frisbie Pie Co, but I remember lots of frisbee playing in college. Even indoors! The hallway in my now-husband’s dorm could be difficult to walk through sometimes! 😂
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what a great memory!)
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😊
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I can just imagine the students at Yale University tossing the empty pie tins to each other as a game, often yelling “Frisbee!” as they let them rip. 😎😊📘
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fun to think about!
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I didn’t realize it is that old… :-)
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I had no idea either
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I remember playing with frisbee as a kid a lot.
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me too
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🥹🥹🥹
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Interesting stuff. Thanks
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I love origin stories of all kinds
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What a fun piece of historical trivia. Who knew frisbees originated from a pie!
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it makes sense, we often create games by goofing around with stuff we find around the house
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I had no idea it started out being called a flyin-saucer. That’s wild!
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well, it was era for it, and people were excited for the whole space thing
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Wonderful Post Thanks
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I remember!!!
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Hours of fun. My son enjoys disc golf.
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that began such a huge thing and continues to this day –
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Fascinating. First time I’ve heard the history that preceded the appearance of Frisbees.
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I just love origin stories
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I’m going to quote my grandmother here, Beth: “I’ve never heard tell!” She always said that when she hadn’t heard of something! That’s me with this cool gadget! Cher xoxoxo
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oh, that’s a great way of saying it!
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Thanks, Beth! I use it once in a while, and I always prepare for the eyebrow raise! LOL Cher xoxoxo
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I never had a frisbee when I was young, and don’t recall seeing them in the UK until much later, maybe the 1970s. I bought one for Ollie to chase when we first got him, but he never showed any interest in it. 😊🐶
Best wishes, Pete.
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I always found that interesting that some dogs loved them and others not at all. they even have a thing here where dogs just of docks to catch them over the water.
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I share Pete’s dating to the 1970. Our kids loved their Frisbee’s but in truth the dogs loved them far more :-)
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a lot of dogs really do !
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I love it! Learn something new every day.
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I love a good origin story
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I have a frisbee story. I got a free frisbee along with some other items a couple of months ago. My daughter looked through the bag, took a frisbee and a few other things. My one-year-old grandson loves that frisbee. Everett carries it around and prefers it to many other toys. Go figure. A free frisbee!
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that is so cute and funny. you never know what that special ‘thing’ will be that will resonate with little ones. )
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Such a fun origin story! I love that ingenuity of it.
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I agree!
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The bag as a helmet…ha, ha, ha. What an interesting history. Always fun to learn how things “take off!”
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origin stories are always fun
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LOL Great quote. Frisbee is fun and dogs love it too.
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so much fun from many living things
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for
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Such a great invention! I used to play Ultimate Frisbee and Frisbee golf with my upper-grade students in PE.
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that’s great, and that became such a huge sport –
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so interesting! I never knew how it got started!
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Entertaining backstory for a fun activity. Thanks for sharing!
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My pleasure
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love this back story, Beth: fascinating —
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It’s a fun one )
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Love the piece. Love the ending thought even more 🤣
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❤️
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Oh, Beth, how exciting to discover that Frisbee was born the same year as us!
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This is truly fascinating. I still can’t throw one worth a damn, but I appreciate knowing the history behind an American classic.
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yes, this has not helped my skill level to have more info, but I always love a good backstory
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ya know… it was bad enough getting smacked in the head with one of those plastic discs, can you imagine being beaned by a metal saucer?
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I know!
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I liked it better when it was a sport for girls in dress shoes.
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sorry for your loss –
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This is awesome… and i k kw i shouldn’t laugh about using the bag as a space helmet. Omg.. times were sure different 😆
A great share, Beth.
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yes, kind of the opposite of what you’d see written on a package with a bag currently )
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Omg all I can think of looking at this photo is…look at those pointy bras women wore in that era…just awful! :))))) Chris
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right!
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They do say you learn something every day – and it’s just happened again! I used to love my frisbee!
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Me too!
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My gyroscopic airfoil based on sound aerodynamic principles was red.
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nice!
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Hilarious about the space helmet bag! Oh my goodness. Simpler times, but maybe that’s why the keep bag away from children warnings exist today. :P
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odds are high )
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Ha!
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brings back good memories of those carefree days of college…
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and the time I got bonked on the head with one…)
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Or it could have been space debris. 🤓
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