Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni     1948

During the Great Depression people had to find ways to have fun that didn't cost a lot of money. When kids discovered that metal pie plates flew well, tossing them became a popular pastime. Although it was great fun, pie plate tossing was not without its hazards. The plates made an unpleasant noise when they flew, and hurt your hands if you didn't catch them just right. Also, if the pie plates crash landed, they could shatter, or develop dangerously sharp edges. In 1948, Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni got the idea to make the flying plates out of plastic. They called them "Flyin' Saucers" to cash in on the UFO craze that was just beginning in North America. The plastic version flew further and straighter than its metal prototype. In 1955, Wham-O, the makers of the Hula-Hoop and the Super Ball, bought the rights to sell "Flyin' Saucers". Spud Melin, one of Wham-O's owners, saw people tossing plates at Yale University and yelling "frisbie" to warn bystanders. The word came from the Frisbie Pie Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Frisbie Pie Company supplied pies -- and pie plates ñ to many of the New England colleges. Melin liked the sound of students' warning, and renamed his toy the FrisbeeÆ. More than 200 million FrisbeesÆ have been sold in last 50 years ñ that's more than baseballs, footballs, and basketballs combined!