In 1943 Richard T. James, a naval mechanical engineer, watched a torsion spring step downward after falling off a shelf and come to rest upright. He spent the next year testing different steel wires and tensions until he found one that would walk reliably. His wife Betty was sceptical at first but came round when neighbourhood children were excited by the prototype. The couple formed James Industries in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, and sold the toy for $1 from 1945. Toy stores were initially reluctant, so they set up a demonstration in the toy department of Gimbels in Philadelphia, where the first 400 units sold in 90 minutes.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.