World's Largest Slinky

It’s four feet high and reaches 100 feet when fully extended. It’s fully functional, pending a large enough staircase, but whether or not it makes a “slinkity sound” is to be determined.

The giant slinky was commissioned by the Virginia Historical Society to coincide with the final stop for the Minnesota History Center-based touring exhibition, Toys of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

It took about a month for Allen W. Jessee to build the slinky, displayed in VHS’s lobby, out of medium-density fibreboard, a compressed wood product that actually keeps the sculpture relatively light at 150 pounds. Jessee is based in Ashland where he owns MCS Design and Production, a company that builds anything from props for television and films to sculptures for corporate and residential places.

Jessee also built the 18-foot-tall, 300-pound Gumby looking out from the front steps of the building.

The previous, and also unofficial, record holder is two-feet taller, but only half as long. It’s in Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the toy, and unlike Jessee’s helical spring behemoth, doesn’t have the bragging rights to being functional.

Update May 2018. The Slinky was sold to and is currently on display at the American Treasure Tour Museum in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The Gumby is also in the area, and will be shown at some point, hopefully soon.