From Lionel Trains to Barbie, Nintendo and Star Wars toys, there have always been a must-have toy that left shoppers lining up and even fighting over them. Christmas-favorite toys through the decades ...

1940s: The Slinky was originally designed to keep equipment steady on ships. But when creator/engineer Richard James knocked it off a shelf, he saw it “walk down” instead of fall.

1900s: Joshua Lionel Cowen created a toy train as a display for toy stores, but the idea caught on and by 1906, they were circling Christmas trees in homes across the nation.

The Toy Hall of Fame welcomed the Slinky to its ranks in 2000. Fun fact: During the Vietnam War, communications soldiers used Slinkys as makeshift radio antennas.

The Slinky, of course, is among them. On a recent frigid December afternoon he set up different types of stairs and ramps in a spacious room to show the toy's simple yet oddly mesmerizing walk.

A boat featuring the slinky dog from Toy Story has sprung in to first place at this year's Matlock Bath Illuminations boat contest. The annual illuminations were first held in the Derbyshire town ...

A giant, glowing slinky toy will be among the illuminations lighting up Salford Quays this winter as the Lightwaves Festival returns. The free, interactive light trail will take place this ...