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Spinning Plates

Created 8-Jan-18

Modified 20-Nov-24

Visitors 263

56 photos

If you are old enough to have seen the variety shows of the late 1950s (such as The Ed Sullivan Show), or watched reruns on YouTube, you may remember the popular craze of spinning plates. TV audiences sat transfixed as a performer balanced one plate after another atop sticks attached to a table and set them in motion with a few quick flicks of the wrist. As each one began to slow down to a wobble, the act became a suspenseful race against time to see how many plates the performer could manage without any falling off the stick. Each new act tried to outdo the previous one.

Quite a number of manufacturers raced to satisfy the eager market of youngsters who wanted to emulate what they had seen on TV. The first plastic plate was sold by the Whirley Corporation in the USA in 1958. It was a relatively short-lived phenomenon and the craze was soon over by the early 1960s. However, spinning plates are still being produced to this day.

Most of the brands also give instructions about tossing the plates like any of the other flying disc already available, so we have included them here in our wing of the Museum.

—Phil Kennedy

Photo copyrights belong to their respective contributors, disc design copyrights belong to their designers

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Archer Plastics—Ski-Pi—Red

Archer Plastics—Ski-Pi—Red—Bottom

Archer Plastics—Ski-Pi—Red—Bottom w/Label

Duncan Toys Company—Duncan Koo-Lee Hat—Red

Duncan Toys Company—Duncan Koo-Lee Hat—Red—Bottom

Empire Plastics—TWIRL-N-TOSS—Two Plate Set—Detail—Header Back

Empire Plastics—TWIRL-N-TOSS—Two Plate Set—Detail—Plate Tops & Header Front

Empire Plastics—TWIRL-N-TOSS—Two Plate Set—Small Yellow & Large Red

Geo. H Hake Corp.—Sauc-O-lite

Geo. H Hake Corp.—Sauc-O-lite—Bottom

Geo. H Hake Corp.—Sauc-O-lite—Bottom Script

Higgins Brothers—Spinning Plate—Blue

Higgins Brothers—Spinning Plate—Blue—Bottom

Irwin Plastic—Knickerbocker Official Twirling Saucers—Package

Lumar Ltd.—Whirl-A-Wiz—Yellow

Lumar Ltd.—Whirl-A-Wiz—Yellow—Bottom

Royal Tot—Spin-a-Plate—Package

Royal Tot—Spin-a-Plate—Package Back

Superior Toy T. Cohn—Superior Spinning Saucer—Green

Superior Toy T. Cohn—Superior Spinning Saucer—Green—Bottom

Tico Toys—Super Swooper—Blue

Tico Toys—Super Swooper—Blue—Bottom

Tico Toys—Super Swooper—Blue—Package

Toltoys—Twirley Whirler—Red

Unknown—Whiring Whirler—Red—Bottom

Unknown—Wirl-It—Green

Unknown—Wirl-It—Green—Bottom

Unknown—Wirl-It—Red

Unknown—Wirl-It—Red—Bottom

Unknown—Wirl-It—Red—Package

Unknown —Whiring Whirler—Red

Wham-O—Whirlee Twirlee—Blue

Wham-O—Whirlee Twirlee—Blue—Bottom

Wham-O—Whirlee Twirlee—Instructions

Wham-O—Whirlee Twirlee—Red

Wham-O—Whirlee Twirlee—Yellow—Bottom

Whirley Corp—Whirley-Whirler—Package

Whirley Corp—Whirley-Whirler—Package Back

Whirley Corp—Whirley-Whirler—Red

Whirley Corp—Whirley-Whirler—White

Whirley Corp—Whirley-Whirler—Yellow

Whirley Corp—Whirley-Whirley—Yellow—Bottom

Whirley Corp.—Pepsi Swirl—Red

Whirley Corp.—Pepsi Swirl—Red—Bottom

Whirley Corp.—Pepsi Swirl—Yellow

Whirley Corp.—Pepsi Swirl—Yellow—Bottom

Whirley Corp.—Spin-A-Reeno—Red

Whirley Corp.—Spin-A-Reeno—Red—Bottom

Zeekio—Spinning Plate—Yellow

Zeekio—Spinning Plate—Yellow—Bottom

Zoo Zoo—Zoom-Top—Blue—Package

Zoo Zoo—Zoom-Top—Red—Package

Zoo Zoo—Zoom-Top—Yellow

Zoo Zoo—Zoom-Top—Yellow—Bottom

Zoo Zoo—Zoom-Top—Yellow—Package

Zoo Zoo—Zoom-Top—Yellow—Package w/ Lollypops

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