PlayDoh

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

PlayDohisamodelingcompoundusedbyyoungchildrenforartandcraft
projectsathomeandinschool.Composedofflour,water,salt,boricacid,
andmineraloil,theproductwasfirstmanufacturedinCincinnati,Ohio,
U.S.,asawallpapercleanerinthe1930s.[1]Theproductwasreworkedand
marketedtoCincinnatischoolsinthemid1950s.PlayDohwas
demonstratedataneducationalconventionin1956andprominent
departmentstoresopenedretailaccounts.[2]AdvertisementspromotingPlay
Dohoninfluentialchildren'stelevisionshowsin1957furtheredthe
product'ssales.[1]Sinceitslaunchonthetoymarketinthemid1950s,Play
Dohhasgeneratedaconsiderableamountofancillarymerchandisesuchas
TheFunFactory.[3]In2003,theToyIndustryAssociationnamedPlayDoh
inits"CenturyofToysList".

PlayDoh

Contents
1 History
1.1 Origin
1.2 Launch
1.3 Subsequentdevelopments
1.4 Mascots
2 Ingredients
3 Relatedmerchandise
4 Culturalimpact
5 Film
6 Seealso
7 References
8 Externallinks

Type

Modellingclay

Inventor

JoeMcVicker
BillRhodenbaugh

Company

Kutol(1955)
RainbowCrafts(since1956)
Hasbro(since1991)

Country

UnitedStates

Availability

1956present

Officialwebsite(http://playdoh.hasbro.com/enus)

History
Origin
Thenontoxic,nonstaining,reusablemodelingcompoundthatcametobeknownas
"PlayDoh"wasapliable,puttylikesubstanceconcoctedbyNoahMcVickerof
CincinnatibasedsoapmanufacturerKutolProducts.Itwasdevisedattherequestof
KrogerGrocery,whichwantedaproductthatcouldcleancoalresiduefrom
wallpaper.[4]FollowingWorldWarII,withthetransitionfromcoalbasedhomeheating
tonaturalgasandtheresultingdecreaseininternalsoot,andtheintroductionof
washablevinylbasedwallpaper,themarketforwallpapercleaningputtydecreased
substantially.McVicker'snephew,JoeMcVicker,joinedKutolwiththeremittosave
thecompanyfrombankruptcy.JoeMcVickerwasthebrotherinlawofnurseryschool
teacherKayZufall,andZufallhadseenanewspaperarticleaboutmakingartprojects
withthewallpapercleaningputty.[5]Herstudentsenjoyedit,andshepersuadedBill
Rhodenbaugh(whoalsosoldtheputty)andJoeMcVickertomanufactureitasachilds
toy.[5]ZufallandherhusbandcameupwiththenamePlayDohJoeMcVickerand
Rhodenbaughhadwantedtocallit"RainbowModelingCompound".[5]

Launch

ObjectsmadeofPlayDoh.

JoeMcVickertookPlayDohtoaneducationalconventionformanufacturersofschool
supplies,[1]andWoodward&Lothrop,adepartmentstoreinWashington,DCbegansellingthecompound.[6]In1956,the
McVickersformedtheRainbowCraftsCompanytomakeandsellPlayDoh.[7]Alsoin1956,athreepackof7ouncecanswas
addedtotheproductline,and,afterinstoredemonstrations,Macy'sofNewYorkandMarshallField'sofChicagoopened
retailaccounts.In1957,chemistDr.TienLiureducedPlayDoh'ssaltcontent(thusallowingmodelstodrywithoutlosingtheir
color),andPlayDohadsweretelecastonCaptainKangaroo,DingDongSchool,andRomperRoom.In1958,PlayDoh's
salesreachednearly$3million.[1]

Subsequentdevelopments

In1964,PlayDohwasexportedtoBritain,France,andItaly.[1]Inthe1980s,itscardboardcan(witharustpronemetal
bottom)wasscuttledforamorecosteffectiveplasticcontainer.[8]By1965,RainbowCraftswasissuedapatentforPlay
Doh.[9]Alsoin1965,GeneralMillspurchasedRainbowCraftsandallrightstoPlayDohfor$3million,placingthecompound
withitsKennerProductssubsidiary.[1][6]In1971,RainbowCraftsandKennerProductsmerged,and,in1987,theTonka
Corporationboughtthetwo.In1991,HasbrobecamePlayDoh'sowner,andcontinuestomanufacturetheproducttoday
throughitspreschooldivision.[1]In1996,goldandsilverwereaddedtoPlayDoh'spalettetocelebrateits40thanniversary.

Mascots
PlayDohpackagingwasbrieflyillustratedwithchildreninthemid1950s,butreplaced
byanelfmascotwhich,in1960,wassupersededbyPlayDohPete,asmockandberet
wearingcartoonishboy.[1]In2002,PlayDohPete'sberetwasreplacedwithabaseball
cap.[1]Since2011,livingPlayDohcansnamedtheDohDohshavebeenseenin
adverts.

Ingredients

DohDohsatInternationalToyFair
Nrnberg2016

PlayDoh'scurrentmanufacturer,Hasbro,revealsthecompoundisprimarilyamixture
ofwater,salt,andflour,[2]whileits2004UnitedStatespatentindicatesitiscomposed
ofwater,astarchbasedbinder,aretrogradationinhibitor,salt,lubricant,surfactant,
preservative,hardener,humectant,fragrance,andcolor.[10]Apetroleumadditivegives
thecompoundasmoothfeel,andboraxpreventsmoldfromdeveloping.[3]Manyhome
maderecipeswillincludesalt,flourorcornstarch,avegetableoil(suchascanolaor
oliveoil)andcreamoftartar.

Relatedmerchandise

In1960,thePlayDohFunFactory(atoypressthatextrudesthecompoundinvarious
shapes)wasinventedbyBobBoggildandBillDale.[1]ThePlayDohFuzzyPumper
Barber&BeautyShopof1977featuredafigurinewhoseextruded"hair"couldbe
styled.Makingitsdebutin1996forcomputersavvyyoungmodelerswasan
educationalsoftwareCDROMgame,PlayDohCreations,and,in2003,thePlayDoh
CreativityTablewasmadeavailable.PlayDohrelatedmerchandiseintroducedduring
the2007anniversaryyearincludedthePlayDohBirthdayBucket,thePlayDohFifty
ColorsPack,theFuzzyPumperCrazyCuts(areworkingofthe1977FuzzyPumper
Barber&BeautyShop),andthePlayDohCreativityCenter.[3]In2012,"PlayDoh
Plus"wascreated.Itislighter,morepliable,andsofterthanregularPlayDoh.

PlayDohFunFactory

Culturalimpact
MorethantwobillioncansofPlayDohweresoldbetween1955and2005,[1]and,in2005,Playdohwasbeingsoldin75
countriesaroundtheworldat95millioncansayear.[1]IntheUnitedStates,morethan6,000storescarryPlayDoh.[11]
TomarkPlayDoh'sfiftiethanniversary,GreececreatedalimitededitionfragranceinspiredbyPlayDoh'sodorfor"highly
creativepeople,whoseekawhimsicalscentreminiscentoftheirchildhood."[2]
PlayDohwasinductedintotheNationalToyHallofFameatTheStronginRochester,NewYork,in1998.
In2003,theToyIndustryAssociationplacedPlayDohintoits"CenturyofToysList",arollcallofthe100mostmemorable
andmostcreativetoysofthetwentiethcentury.
Inlate2014thecompanyofferedtoreplaceanew"PlayDohCakeMountain"extrudertool,forfree,afterreceiving
complaintsaboutthetoy's"phallicshape".[12]

Film
InApril2,2015,20thCenturyFoxannouncedtoworkonaPlayDohmoviewithHasbroStudiosandCherninEntertainment
producing,JasonMicallefwritingandPaulFeigdirectingfromhisproductioncompanyFeigco.[13]

Seealso
Milliput
Plastilina
Plasticine
Sculpey

References
1.Walsh,Tim(2005)."Playdoh".TimelessToys:ClassicToysandthePlaymakersWhoCreatedThem.KansasCity:AndrewsMcMeel
Publishing.pp.115120.ISBN9780740755712.
2.Wilson,TracyV."HowPlayDohModelingCompoundWorks".HowStuffWorks.Retrieved19February2009.
3.Sobey,EdwinJ.C.WoodySobey(2008).TheWayToysWork:TheScienceBehindtheMagic8Ball,EtchASketch,Boomerang,and
More.ChicagoReviewPress.p.96.ISBN9781556527456.
4."AccidentalBrands"(http://www.cbc.ca/undertheinfluence/season1/2012/03/17/accidentalbrands1/),fromUndertheInfluence,by
TerryO'Reilly,onCBC.cafirstbroadcastMarch17,2012
5.GregHatala(20140128)."MadeinJersey:PlayDohisaDoverteacher'shandiwork".NJ.com,TheStarLedger.Retrieved
20160416.
6."RainbowCraftsCompany,Inc.".OhioHistoryCentral.28July2006.Retrieved30October2008.
7.PhilAment."PlayDohHistoryInventionofPlayDoh".Ideafinder.com.Retrieved20110523.
8."The50YearHistoryofPlayDoh".2006.Retrieved19February2009.
9.NoahW.McVickerandJosephS.McVicker,"Plasticmodelingcompositionofasoft,pliableworkingconsistency,"(http://patimg1.us
pto.gov/.piw?Docid=03167440&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2FnphParser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect
2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%2526r%3D1%2
526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526s1%3D3,167,440.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F3,167,440%2526RS%3DPN%2F3,167,440&PageNum=
&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page)U.S.patentno.3,167,440(filed:May17,1960issued:January26,
1965).
10."GooglePatents".Retrieved28July2014.
11.HowStuffWorks"HowPlayDohModelingCompoundWorks"(http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/playdoh.htm)
12.RespersFrance,Lisa."PlayDohwillexchangephallicshapedtoyCNN.com".CNN.Retrieved3January2015.
13.Fleming,Jr,Mike(April2,2015)."FoxMoldingPlayDohFilmWithPaulFeigCirclingAnotherHasbroToyBrandMaking
MovieTransfer".Deadline.

Externallinks
PlayDohbeganaswallcleaner|OurHistory(https://web.archive.org/web/20140226152114/http://cincinnati.com/blog
s/ourhistory/2013/01/24/playdohbeganaswallcleaner/)
PlaymakersPartII:PlayDoh(http://www.parentschoice.org/article.cfm?art_id=236)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PlayDoh&oldid=722098564"
Categories: Artandcrafttoys Claytoys 1950stoys Hasbroproducts Hasbrobrands Sculpturematerials
Productsintroducedin1956 1956introductions
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