USC Alumni Richard Knerr – Photo from DrFad.com

USC has a treasure-trove of notable alumni. You’ve heard of Marcus Allen, Neil Armstrong, Will Ferrell, George Lucas, General Norman Schwarzkopf, John Wayne and Forest Whitaker. But have you ever heard about the guy that invented fun? His name was Richard Knerr. You’ve probably never heard of him before today, but Richard Knerr was a bigger part of your childhood than you ever knew.

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Richard Knerr and fellow USC grad Arthur Melin started selling slingshots after college. Their company WHAM-O was soon founded. Before long they had changed the very landscape of childhood toys and american kiddie-culture forever. Just a few of their inventions make the short list of Toy classics: The Frisbee, Hula Hoop, the “insanely bouncy” Superball and what would summers be without the Slip ‘N Slide. You know that silly-string that Tom Hanks shoots out of his nose in Big? Yeah, that’s theirs too.

Fellow Trojan Richard Knerr died Monday at age 82, and although he may now be gone, his legacy will live on in memories of summer days and Slip ‘N Slides, silly string on Halloween, and in the mischevious grins on children’s faces for years to come.