Wham-O Super Ball

Invented by Norm Stingley, a chemical engineer employed by the Bettis Rubber Company in Whittier, California, the Super Ball debuted in 1965. Stingley fashioned a ball of zectron, material originally intended to cap off gushing oil wells. He placed the molded zectron ball under intense pressure; the result was a ball that could bounce 6 times higher and more energetically than regular rubber balls. Stingley sold his Super Ball to fad champion Wham-o. The company sold 6 million Super Balls the first year it was marketed. By the mid-1970s, sales of the novelty had dwindled, but in 1998, Wham-o issued "The Original Super Ball," to much nostalgic appeal