Wham-O called their new product the Hula Hoop. (The name had been used since the 18th century, but till then had not been registered as a trademark.) The Hula-Hoop became the biggest toy fad in modern history. Twenty-five million were sold in four months, and in two years sales reached more than 100 million. "Hula Hoop mania" continued through the end of 1959, and netted Wham-O US$45 million (US$346M adjusted for inflation to 2012). Shortly thereafter, the company had another huge success with the Frisbee. In 1955, inventor Fred Morrison began marketing a plastic flying disc called the Pluto Platter. He
Toy Biz Marvel Enterprises licensed the rights to the Toy Biz name to a Hong Kong-based toy manufacturer, Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd., with the two companies holding a manufacturing partnership. Toy Biz designed the toys, Toy Biz Worldwide manufactured most (but not all) of them, and Marvel Enterprises distributed. The concept being that Marvel Enterprises could instead focus less on manufacturing, and more on design, marketing and distribution. In late 2001, Toy Biz became master toy license holders for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy released by New Line Cinema. The films released every December from 2001 to 2003. In September