WHAM-O

Super Balls came out in 1965, and they were all the rage. The first ones that I recall came in your basic black. The package says "Made of AMAZING ZECTRON - 50,000 POUNDS OF COMPRESSED ENERGY!" If dropped from shoulder level, this very bouncey ball will retain 80% of it's kenetic energy. So if dropped from shoulder level, will almost bounce back up to your hand. If thrown down with force, the Super Ball is capable of bouncing over a 9-story building. The Super Ball is in fact a Super Ball - because it literally can leap over tall buildings in a single bound.

An interesting tidbit of information I discovered at Wikipedia is that Lamar Hunt, founder of the American Football League, coined the term Super Bowl after watching his children playing with a Super Ball. I never knew that.

Like most popular toys produced by Wham-O, it's got it's dark side. So remember kids, if it doesn't say Wham-O, it might not kill you! You see, about the only way you can purchase a Super Ball these days is in those gumball machines. You know the ones I'm talking about. You put your change in and get a prize instead of candy. Well, Super Balls these days look a lot like gum balls and have been mistaken for gumballs. Most of them are about the same size and come in lots of pretty colors. Kids have been known to choke on this toy thinking it was candy.

Dangerous toy or not - the Super Ball ranks SUPER in my book (if I had a book).