Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Father of the Frisbee Dies At 90

Posted by timothy on from the contributed-many-years-of-aggregate-pleasure dept.

theodp writes "Walter Fredrick Morrison, whose post-World War II invention of a 'flying' plastic disc became the American recreational icon known as the Frisbee, has died at age 90 of age-related causes (great obit pic). Wham-O Inc. has sold more than 200 million Frisbees since Morrison sold the company the rights to what he called the Pluto Platter in 1957. The roots of today's aerodynamic Frisbees go back to 1937, when Morrison and his future wife tossed a large popcorn can lid back and forth for fun during a Thanksgiving party."

12 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. frisbeetarianism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    His soul has gone up on the roof and gotten stuck there.

  2. Farewell by Dyinobal · · Score: 5, Funny

    Farewell Sir, My dog thanks you.

  3. Not accurate by binarylarry · · Score: 5, Funny

    I seem to recall watching a documentary that showed the frisbee being invented some time back in 1885 or 1886.

    --
    Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    1. Re:Not accurate by lazybeam · · Score: 3, Informative

      You mean in September 1885, by a Mr Martin McFly (pseudonym Clint Eastwood)? In that case there's only 5 more years until I get my hoverboard!

      --
      --
      no sig for you. come back one year.
    2. Re:Not accurate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sure, discus is older, but last person I know who played catch with a discus ended up with about 12 stitches in his head.

      You can argue that frisbee is an evolution of the discus, and I would agree with you, but it is certainly a new and separate item.

    3. Re:Not accurate by Graff · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I seem to recall watching a documentary that showed the frisbee being invented some time back in 1885 or 1886.

      The Frisbie was originally the pie plate used by the Frisbie Pie Company to bake and sell its pies in. Yale students were throwing them around in games since the late 1800's, well before Fred Morrison came up with his "Pluto Platter". Wham-O decided to re-name the Pluto Platter to the Frisbie because that's what it was already widely called, then they had to re-name it again to "Frisbee" in order to avoid trademark infringement.

      --
      Sapere aude!
  4. Re:Back to the Future? by maxume · · Score: 3, Funny

    Was it before, after or between shows about aliens?

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  5. Re:Back to the Future? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 5, Informative

    The first Frisbies were pie pans from the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport Conn, founded in 1871 by William Russell Frisbie. Yale students were using the term Frisbie for flying discs 50 years before the invention of the Pluto Platter.

    When Wham-O bought the rights to the plastic version that Morrison invented one of their executives, Rich Knerr liked the marketability of the name and changed it to Frisbee.

    Frisbie pies are still manufactured by Table Talk Inc.

    Knerr was also responsible for the Hula Hoop which to this day is recognized as the benchmark American fad toy.

  6. what's with the quotes? by SuperBanana · · Score: 5, Informative

    I invention of a 'flying' plastic disc

    Why the quotes? A disc generates real aerodynamic lift; anyone who plays Ultimate can tell you that. Throw right-handed and drop the outside edge, and it will curve to the right. Raise it and aim a bit out and up, and you can throw an "outside in" (aim up and out because, like with a plane, you have to compensate for lift being generated at an angle, which means less lift straight-up. You also have slip.) Tilt the disc upwards but throw it downwards, and it'll appear to "bounce."

    Also: don't call a "disc" a Frisbee around an Ultimate player. Why? Wham-O saw a bunch of people playing this game called Ultimate, freaked out that someone was using their product for a game. They then tried to a)control it and then when that failed, b)made their own game to try and drown it out. It was a pretty despicable and petty move. Now they mostly spend their time chasing down anyone who uses the word "frisbee". Had they simply been content to sell discs, they'd be selling them by the boatload to Ultimate players. Instead, they got greedy and it backfired on 'em.

    Also, Ultrastar's discs (considered the standard) are much more easier on the hand for most, and tend to fly better.

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
  7. very sad. by dissolved · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't want to discus this.

  8. Re:Back to the Future? by Concerned+Onlooker · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Knerr was also responsible for the Hula Hoop"

    You know. For kids!

    --
    http://www.rootstrikers.org/
  9. Re:news for neurotypicals, stuff that doesn't matt by nmb3000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    This definitely would not have been posted here ten years ago.

    Of course not. Ten years ago it would have been "Father of the Frisbee Dies At 80".

    What bothers me more is that, from what I can tell, Netcraft hasn't confirmed this yet. Are we sure this isn't another hoax?

    --
    "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
    /)