Frisbee inventor dies aged 90

Walter Frederick Morrison, inventor of the ‘Pluto Platter,’ has died aged 90 at his home in Utah.

This won’t mean much until you’re familiar with the name his invention came to be known under: the Frisbee. It’s one of the world’s most enduringly popular toys, with hundreds of millions sold worldwide.

Morrison created the toy in the 50s after playing with a metal cake tin. He designed his aerodynamic disc using plastic, then still a revolutionary post-war material. He dubbed it the Pluto Platter, tapping into the craze for all things planetary due to the emerging space race.

Throwing a Frisbee is trickier than it looks, you can’t just chuck it any which-way. The key to its flight is its rotation, which causes air to flow over the upper curved surface. The pressure differentiation between the upper and lower surfaces creates lift.

This leads to the difference in Frisbee ability levels - throw one with a high velocity rotation and it will fly in a perfectly straight line, even if not thrown hard. But throw a Frisbee hard with little or no rotation and it will just hover and tumble. Disaster.

The official Frisbee website paid tribute to Mr Morrison, know as Fred, saying: As Frisbee discs keep flying though the air, bringing smiles to faces, Fred's spirit lives on. Smooth flights, Fred!