Frisbee

Give it a toss and watch it fly! Frisbee turned a simple game of catch into something you could play almost anywhere - especially if you had plenty of open space.

Frisbee is another one of those toys built around an incredibly simple idea: throw it to somebody, let them catch it, and have them throw it back. Of course, getting it to actually go where you wanted it to go could take a little practice.

Long before Wham-O sold its familiar plastic disc, people were already tossing around pie tins and other flat metal objects. College students in the Northeast became particularly associated with throwing empty pie tins from Connecticut's Frisbie Pie Company - and calling out “Frisbie” as they tossed them.

At about the same time, out in California, Walter “Fred” Morrison had been experimenting with flying discs of his own. He and his future wife started by tossing things like a popcorn-tin lid and cake pans, and Morrison eventually developed a much better-flying plastic version. By the mid-1950s he was selling an improved model called the Pluto Platter, taking advantage of America's fascination with flying saucers and outer space at the time.

Wham-O acquired the rights to Morrison's design in 1957 and soon renamed the toy “Frisbee” (a variation of the pie-company name). From there, that simple plastic disc became one of the most recognizable outdoor toys ever made.

Like the Hula Hoop, part of the appeal of a Frisbee is that there's really not much to it. No batteries. No setup. No pieces to lose. Grab a Frisbee, find somebody willing to catch it, and head outside. I still keep a Frisbee in the trunk of my car - it takes up almost no space, and you never know when you may be at a park or beach and want something to do (Nerf Footballs are also very good for spontaneous activity - keep one handy). And, if you are like me and have trouble accurately throwing a Frisbee over longer distances, you should consider trying one of the ring-shaped flying discs - they are much easier to throw straight and level over very long distances.

Eventually people discovered there was a lot more you could do with a flying disc than play catch. Frisbee helped inspire organized games and sports, including Ultimate Frisbee and disc golf, which uses specialized golf discs, with different types and weights of discs serving somewhat like the different clubs used in traditional golf. You can play disc golf just about anywhere there is open space, and you don't have to use actual disc golf targets. It's pretty easy to just spot a distant tree in the park, agree that is the “hole” everyone is trying to get to, and start playing.

Even with those variations, ultimately, the classic Frisbee, an open space, and a couple of people are really all you need.