Along with the balloon tire bicycle and the skateboard (see entry under 1950s—Sports and Games in volume 3), the Frisbee is a key accessory of late twentieth-century American childhood. Plastic flying discs were marketed as the "Flyin' Saucer" by the Pipco company in the late 1940s, but the first "Frisbee" was made by the Wham-O Toy Company in 1957. The flying disc that began life as a pie tin became popular on California beaches and never really went away.

By the late 1960s, laid-back Frisbee fans worked on throwing the Frisbee as straight and as far as possible. They also played Frisbee Golf, Ultimate Frisbee, and Freestyle Frisbee. With its trick throws, juggling, behind-the-back catches, and other flashy moves, Freestyle caught the public imagination in the 1970s. In the 1990s, Ultimate Frisbee was a growing worldwide sport. Despite the high-tech distractions of the twenty-first century, Frisbee remains very popular...