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The American Inventor Who turned Himself Into A Frisbee After He Died
Toy guru Ed Headrick was the father of the modern Frisbee, and was so connected to it that he became one in death
Inventors typically are among the most brilliant minds around us. Their ability to see things that don’t already exist and make them into reality is a special gift that has always benefited society. These innovators can also be eccentric, with Ed Headrick being a perfect example of this. The inventor of the popular outdoor toy, the Frisbee, had his cremated remains molded into a limited series of special Frisbees to be sold for charity when he passed away.
Headrick was a World War II veteran and deep sea welder and found his calling as a toy inventor. So impassioned was he in the field that he attempted to get a job with toy company Wham-O. After being informed that there were no vacant positions, he told them he would work for free for the first three months if they would only give him a chance. The company would only have to pay for those months if they liked the work he did. They took him up on his cocky offer, willing to see if they could capture lightning in a bottle. They could. One of his first projects was finding ways to repurpose Hula Hoops after the initial craze had died down and the massive amounts of inventory remained.
Over time, Headrick moved up the ranks at Wham-O, ultimately becoming their head of research and development. He specialized in revisiting toys already on the market that weren’t big sellers to see what improvements he could make to change their fortunes. One of these toys he dusted off was Walter Frederick Morrison’s Flying Saucer or “Pluto Platter,” which came into existence during a rise in interest across the country in UFOs. After being acquired by Wham-O, it just seemed to be one of those things they didn’t really know how to market.
Headrick took the saucer, made it larger and with a slightly different design that made it sportier and less likely to be connected with extraterrestrials.He patented his Frisbee as U.S. Patent #3359678. He also pushed hard on rebranding the new and improved toy. This included promoting it for aiming at targets, trick throws and perhaps his best idea, developing the game of Frisbee…
