History of PlayDoh
Happy Fiftieth Birthday, Play-Doh!
Play-Doh was originally designed as a wallpaper cleaner, but its inventor Joe McVicker soon discovered that it made a great toy. McVicker became a millionaire before his 27th birthday after releasing Play-Doh as a modeling compund for kids.
According Hasbro, "In 1956, Play-Doh Brand Modeling Compound, a non-toxic reusable modeling compound developed and introduced by Rainbow Crafts in Cincinnati, was first demonstrated and sold in the toy department of Woodward & Lothrop Department Store in Washington, D.C."
The first Play-Doh Compound came only in an off-white and was packaged in a 1 1/2 pound can. But by 1957, there were three additional colors: yellow, red, and blue.
National Play-Doh Day is September 18th. In the last fifty years, over seven hundred million pounds of Play-Doh have been sold.