. . . the WIFFLE ball . . .

Today is the 59th anniversary of the WIFFLE ball.

The ball used in the game was invented by David N. Mullany at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953[1] when he designed a ball that curved easily for his 12-year-old son. It was named when his son and his friends would refer to a strikeout as a "whiff". A classic wiffle ball is about the same size as a regulation baseball, but is hollow plastic no more than 1/8 inch thick. One hemisphere is perforated with eight .75-inch (19 mm) oblong holes, with a solid second hemisphere. This construction allows pitchers to throw a tremendous variety and size of curveballs, sinkers, and risers. Wiffle balls are typically packaged with a hollow, hard plastic, yellow bat that measures 32 inches (810 mm) in length and about 1.25 inches (32 mm) in diameter.

Source: Wikipedia