A brief history of Play-Doh

Play-Doh is a classic toy that’s stood the test of time for decades, but what some may not know is that it first reached American homes long before it was designed for children.

Many have sensory memories associated with Play-Doh as a kid, including the vibrant colors in the yellow container, that distinct smell, and even the salty taste among those who (not-so-secretly) chose to sample it. 

Play-Doh became popular in the mid-1950s in the United States. But at least 20 years before that, the product was marketed and sold as wallpaper cleaner, according to The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, which runs the National Toy Hall of Fame.

It was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 1998, cementing its status as the enduring, non-toxic, mainstay for kids everywhere. 

Here’s a brief history of Play-Doh:

Play-Doh was originally a wallpaper cleaner

In the late 1920s, Cleo McVicker was working for the Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kutol Products soap company. It was close to going out of business in 1933, when McVicker negotiated a contract with Kroger grocery stores to manufacture ready-made wallpaper cleaner to be marketed and sold in their stores, according to the museum, citing Tim Walsh’s book, "Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers who Created Them."

At the time, coal was a primary heating source in many homes, but it left a layer of soot on wallpaper that was hard to clean.

The company had never made wallpaper cleaner before, and McVicker returned to Kutol Products and his brother Noah, a product developer, came up with a non-toxic and malleable clay-like compound made from water, salt, and flour. This formula ended up keeping the company in business and successful for another 20 years, according to the Strong Museum.

"By the early 1950s, sales of Kutol Products wallpaper cleaner began to plummet," the Strong Museum states. "After World War II, families often converted coal-based home furnaces to oil and gas, thus reducing the soot residue issues that many homeowners previously battled." 

Cleo McVicker died in 1949, and his son, Joseph McVicker, took over and was tasked to keep the company going. Around 1955, he learned from his sister-in-law, a school teacher, that kids usually found traditional modeling clay "too hard to manipulate," and he reformulated their product as a play object. 

"Discovering that the squishy cleaning product he manufactured could substitute, McVicker shipped some to the school," the Strong Museum states on its website. "After teachers and kids raved, he offered to supply the product to all Cincinnati schools."

He continued to spread the word, bringing the new type of modeling clay to a national education convention in 1955. By 1956, Joseph McVicker established Rainbow Crafts Company Inc., a subsidiary of Kutol Products, and the wallpaper cleaner had become Play-Doh, according to the museum. 

By 1957, Play-Doh was available in the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. 

Play-Doh’s popularity grew after McVicker introduced it to Bob Keeshan, otherwise known to the television world as "Captain Kangaroo," and he used it on the popular children’s television show.

"Sales skyrocketed, and Rainbow Crafts struggled to keep up with the overwhelming demand for this new toy," the Strong Museum states on its website. 

Play-Doh accessories, new colors, new owners

The invention of the toy press, called the Fun Factory, in 1960, allowed children to easily extrude Play-Doh into interesting shapes, like fake hair and colorful spaghetti. 

By 1964, Rainbow Crafts was shipping more than 1 million cans of Play-Doh per year, according to the Strong Museum. General Mills purchased the company in 1965. 

In 1972, General Mills placed Play-Doh under the Kenner brand name. Kenner, known for producing action figures for "Star Wars," "Jurassic Park", and "Batman," continued to manufacture Play-Doh until the company was acquired by Hasbro in 1991.

Play-Doh expanded its palette to eight colors in the 1980s, according to the Strong Museum. Later iterations of Play-Doh included glitter, glow-in-the-dark, and even a scented product.

Hasbro continues to manufacture and sell Play-Doh today, and according to the Strong Museum, it’s estimated that more than 2 billion cans of Play-Doh have been sold worldwide since it was officially introduced in 1955.

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