Shrinky Dinks

These thin, flexible sheets shrink into hard plastic when baked. First sold in a Brookfield, Wis., shopping mall in 1973, Shrinky Dinks were almost magical. After decorating the thin piece of plastic and baking it, kids could watch their creation shrink to one-third its size and become about nine times thicker. Invented by Betty Morris and Kathryn Bloomberg as a Boy Scouts project with their sons, Shrinky Dinks went on to be manufactured by a few major toy companies before hitting their popularity apex in the mid-1980s.

• 
• Click to Print

• Find this article at:
• https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2049243_2048657_2049161,00.html