Behold! The Swing Wing

The Swing Wing was a toy, similar to the Hula Hoop, but was worn on the head and twirled by moving the neck and/or body in a painful back and forth motion. It was developed by Transogram Games and introduced in 1965. It did not do as well as the Hula Hoop.

Perhaps it had to do with its slogan, which was, “It’s a what??” I get that it is supposed to be clever, but perhaps a better slogan would have been, “It’s this thing that you put on your head, and it will hurt a lot!”

Transogram was an American producer of toys, games and other leisure products from the early 20th century to 1971. It is best known for such long-produced games as Tiddledy Winks and Game of India, as well as such baby-boomer favorites as Green Ghost and television tie-in board games for such characters and series as Atom Ant, The Flintstones, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Perry Mason and Tom and Jerry.

My eldest sister had a Swing Wing. I am not sure where she got it, since it was from before her time. Still, I remember the neck aching play session in our backyard. Not only would I walk away physically hurt from playing with the Swing Wing, but the constant motion also made me nauseous.

I have seen the Swing Wing for sale on eBay and have been tempted to pull the trigger and send one to my sister. I am cautious, though, I don’t remember them being particularly sturdy when I was a kid. I cannot imagine that they have aged well after that.

Here is a commercial for the toy with wonderful sixties music and kids playing with their Swing Wing in improbable places and ways. The zoo seems a particularly unusual place to Swing Wing. It almost appears that they are taunting the animals.

The past was a complicated time. Swing Wing!