Slinkys are still sold today — but I’ll always remember it as a staple of the 1970’s, when I was a toddler.  It was one of my favorite toys.

I remember occasionally needing help from an older sibling to get it to “walk” down the stairs, as it was intended to do.  (Again, I was never the brightest bulb in the socket.)  I also frequently got it so tangled up that it looked like one of those razored traps from the modern “Saw” films — and an adult had to fix that.  But it was always fun while it lasted.

There’s a pretty cute story about the toy’s origin right here at The National Museum of Play.