Superball
It’s just a dang rubber ball. And yet Wham-O’s Superball was the toy sensation of the 1960s, crushing the ball market with its simplicity. To get to this simplicity, however, chemist Norman Stingley had to invent a new molecular compound called Zectron. As a result, the Superball could leap over a three-story building if bounced hard enough. Superman, meet Superball.