Summer’s just around the corner. That means it’s time for lots of outdoor fun! The Slip’n Slide has been a summertime staple of many American households, from the 1960’s to today. So with the summer months rapidly approaching, we’re going to slip and slide down memory lane. This week we’re taking a look at the Slip’n Slide from back when we were kids.

The Slip’n Slide was invented in 1961 by Robert Carrier. It’s one of those invention stories that seems so simple when thinking about it. It just so happens, it only took one man with a creative son, and his son’s friends. One day, these very kids thought it would be fun to wet down the driveway and slide across it. Now, as a fully understanding adult, he knew this would only result in scraped up legs and torsos. Carrier, an upholster by trade, came up with the idea of wetting down a rubber tarp for the boys to slide on instead.

Carrier submitted a patent for the “aquatic play equipment” in 1961. The design included a long strip of tarp, with a hose connection on one end of a sewn tube. And the other end sewn shut, as to create pressure. Along that tube, holes to shoot out water. After obtaining the patent, the toy company, Wham-O, stepped in to manufacture and sell the product. The very company that created fun toys and games such as: Hula Hoop, Frisbee, Silly String and Hacky sack!

Just remembering the minor incidents that would happen on occasion can bring laughs to those of us who survived them. For example, there was always that one, super-jagged, just-big-enough rock that didn’t even exist before you laid out the slide. This rock would conveniently appear just as you were gliding over it.

Or, what about having too much speed and power behind you? And you happen to slide right off of the slide and onto the grass. Or maybe even the sidewalk beyond the edge of the yard. Talk about a hard stop.

Then there were those times the water would runoff at just the right angle to leave a giant patch of the slide drier than the desert. And when your bare skin found that spot, at a rapid speed mind you, it burned like hell.

Now that’s small potatoes compared to some of the injuries resulting from the DIY slides. But when you and your friends are just looking for a fun way to stay cool in the mid-summer heat, you’ll risk it. And boy, have folks gotten creative over the years.

The Slip’n Slide will forever be in the hearts and minds of generations to come. What a better way to enjoy a hot summer day with your friends?! And hey, while we’re talking about it… Do you have an epic Slip’n Slide adventure story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it!