There are many arguments that can be made in regards to the true origin of the Frisbee, and there is the simple fact that many ancient cultures used throwing discs as weapons, but then again the disc is in simple terms just an extension of the wheel. A more recent predecessor in the Frisbee though is the clay-based pigeon target, and though originally created from clay, modern targets are within every essence plastic flying frisbees.
Most people recognise that the Frisbie Pie Company was the original instigators of the Frisbee, although it was not by design. The Frisbie Pie Company produced pies from their factory in Brdigeport, Connecticut, and they were soon offering their products to the students of almost all New England colleges. The students soon discovered that once they had filled their stomachs they could play a game with the included pie tins. The pie tins were flat with a small lip, and that they could throw and catch them quickly.
The fact though that Frisbie Pie Company delivered to so many of the New England colleges has triggered them all to claim that they were the instigators of the frisbee fad. There is a widely spread tale, although without much supporting evidence, that a student from Dartmouth named Elihu Frisbie in the 1920s was the very first person to throw a Frisbee.
The formal invention of the frisbee came at the end of the second world War when Walter Frederick Morrison, a returning American prisoner of war, started sketching designs for a flying disc. Having drawn his plans for his Whirlo-Way, he teamed up with Warren Franscioni to support and finance the production, and by 1948 the Pipco Flyin-Saucer was in production. These flying discs were created from plastic and could be thrown with quite a bit of accuracy over long distances.
Morrison soon ended his partnership with Franscioni, and in 1950 the 2 men went their separate ways with their product only having met limited success. Morrison though had not been finished with flying discs, he continued to modify his layouts, and came up with the Pluto Platter in 1955. The US at that time was gripped with interest about UFOs and soon the flying disc became a famous toy. Morrison patented his design, including the Morrison Slope, which is currently part of the aerodynamic design of the frisbee.
Success for the Pluto Platter only really came to exist when a new toy organization, Wham-O, came across the frisbee. Owned by Rich Knerr in addition to Arthur Spud Melin, the company was on the look-out for new toys, and bought the rights to the design from Morrison. Morrison ended up earning millions of dollars in royalties from his design.
Wham-O decided Pluto Platter was not a catchy enough name for the new toy, and perhaps influenced by the shouts of college students, who yelled "frisbee" every time they caught their flying discs, chose the name Frisbee.
They felt the frisbee was in need of a redesign and hired Ed Headrick, the head of marketing for Wham-O. His redesign included changes to make it possible for a more stabilised flight. By 1964 the redesign appeared to be complete and Wham-O launched an intensive advertising campaign. Demand was fuelled when Maplewood students created a game called Ultimate Frisbee in 1967.
The demand for Frisbees has remained high since that time, and many games have been developed around the Frisbee. Ultimate Frisbee is played, even competed on an international level. There is also Frisbee golf and other aim sports. The Frisbee is often a popular child's toy, dog toy, and even a perfect device for adults wishing to have fun for hours with friends down at the beach.
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For further reading about the frisbee - http://frisbee-frisbee.com
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