Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Article of the Month

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Article of the Month

From Uncle John's Bathroom Reader BEST OF THE BEST

The FUN IN A CAN AWARD
Play-Doh

The smell of Play-Doh is a staple in classrooms, playrooms, and nurseries around the country. It's also worthy of a Golden Plunger.

A FUN DISCOVERY

The story of Play-Doh is quintessentially American, from invention to patent to market success. When her husband Cleo died in 1949, Irma McVicker hired son Joseph to run his company, Kutol Products, which specialized in the manufacture of soap and wallpaper cleaner. On May 17, 1960, a patent was granted to Noah McVicker (a relative and company manager) and Joseph McVicker for a "plastic modeling composition of a soft, playable working consistency." They got the patent, but they hadn't been searching for modeling clay at all. Joseph was investigating wallpaper cleaner and stumbled onto an alternate use for the substance.

Joseph's sister-in-law Kay was a teacher in New Jersey. After seeing an article in a magazine about making Christmas tree ornaments out of wallpaper cleaner, she drove to the nearest hardware store and bought their only can (which happened to be Kutol's . . . small world). Her nursery class had a great time playing with the "dough."

When word about the success of the cleaner with the school children reached Joseph, he and Noah proceeded to test the product in numerous nursery and elementary schools around the country. Once its properties as a toy had been established (it was clean, easy to model, and could be reused), Noah and Joseph founded Rainbow Crafts to start manufacturing the new product. Play-Doh made its official debut in 1956 at the Woodward & Lothrop department store in Washington, D.C. The white compound came

A LOT OF DOUGH

For nearly 20 years, Play-Doh came in just four colors: white, red, yellow, and blue. White, of course, was introduced in 1956, and the three primary colors-red, blue, and yellow-appeared a year later. It wasn't until 1983 that four more colors were introduced. Now the kiddie modeling compound is available in 50 colors (including gold and silver), and more than 900 million pounds have been sold in the past 50 years. Factories produce about 95 million cans of Play-Doh annually for 6,000 U.S. stores and 75 different countries.

SECRET RECIPE

No one has ever revealed Play-Doh's exact formula, but Hasbro (the company that now manufactures it) does let people know that the dough contains water, salt, and flour-and no peanuts, peanut oil, or milk, all well-known allergens. (It does contain wheat, though.) According to its current patent, the stuff also is made with water, a starch-based binder, retrogradation inhibitor, salt, lubricant, surfactant, preservative, hardener, humectant, fragrance, and color. Not exactly a wholesome snack-but ultimately harmless.

PLAY-DOH FACTS

• Play-Doh was put into plastic cans in 1986, which kept the tightly capped dough soft and pliable for longer periods of time.

• In 1960, the first Play-Doh Fun Factory was introduced. Basically just a souped-up pasta maker made out of plastic, the lever-based device allowed kids to make different kinds of ropes and discs of Doh.

• For years, Play-Doh cans and labels were graced with the impish cartoon of Play-Doh Pete, who morphed from an elf to a beret-wearing boy in 1960 and then traded his headgear for a baseball cap in the 1970s.

• One of the most popular sets ever made was 1977's Fuzzy Pumper Barber and Beauty Shop Playset (known from the start simply as the Play-Doh Barber Shop). The barbershop exists today in a new incarnation-the Fuzzy Pumper Pet Parlor.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
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From Uncle John Takes a Swing at Baseball

N is for.NICE GUYS FINISH LAST, a phrase coined by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher on July 6, 1946, and familiar worldwide today. His actual quote, according to his autobiography: "Take a look at them. All nice guys. They'll finish last. Nice guys. Finish last." (He was referring to the 1946 New York Giants. They finished last.)