National Play-Doh Day

Play-Doh - A soft-pliable compound made of flour, water and coloring that debuted in 1956. The original Play-Doh formula can be traced to Joseph McVicker of Kutol Chemicals in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1955, McVicker's sister-in-law, a teacher in New Jersey, inquired about a safe and fun modeling clay substitute to give to her nursery school children. Joseph sent her a sample of a non-toxic compound used to clean wallpaper. The clay was an instant success and soon the Cincinnati Board of Education was using it in all their elementary schools. Formalizing his product as Play-doh, McVicker's founded Rainbow Crafts in 1956 and with sales to such retail establishments as Woodard & Lothrop department stores in Washington, D.C. his soft. malleable substance soon became a top selling product. In the 1970s Rainbow Crafts merged with Kenner Products and later Hasbro Toys took up the product line. Initially, Play-Doh was a grayish-white color, (sold in 1 ½ pound cans and later three and four packs) but colors such as yellow, red and blue purple, pink, orange and green. gold and silver were introduced to enhance sales and appearance., The original Play-Doh product mascot was a pixie called Play-Doh Pete. September 16th is national Play-doh Day.

in 1957

Three new colors are added to the Play-Doh line—yellow, red and blue—and the three-can pack was introduced. Early TV advertising featured Miss Frances on "Ding Dong School" and "Captain Kangaroo."

in 1958

Play-Doh Compound 4-Pack, including red, yellow, blue and white, introduced at American Toy Fair.

in 1960

Fun Factory® accessory playset added to line. The Play-Doh Compound logo featuring the Play-Doh Pete image was created.

in 1963

New Play-Doh Compound two-ounce "mini-cans" introduced.

in 1964

Play-Doh Compound goes international with distribution in England, France and Italy.

in 1970

Play-Doh Pete TV commercial, featuring the image appearing on all Play-Doh Compound packaging, voted in top 100 best commercials by Advertising Age.

in 1971

Kenner Products merged with Rainbow Crafts, and Play-Doh Compound became a part of the Kenner line.

in 1972

Play-Doh Compound recorded production of 500,000,000th can.

in 1983

Play-Doh Compound introduced in the new Rainbow 8 pack—four bright new colors combined with the original four (The Rainbow 8-pack is still a popular item in the line today.).

in 1986

Play-Doh Modeling Compound, packaged in a cardboard container for 30 years, now packaged in a tight seal, easy-to-open plastic container for longer life.

in 1991

Play-Doh Compound celebrated its 35th year as one of America’s most popular toys and joined the Hasbro family of toys and games.

in 1992

The Case of Colors with new compound colors in two-ounce cans was introduced and the logo and packaging were updated. Sparkling Play-Doh Compound and Glow-in-the-Dark were introduced.

in 1993

The One Stop Playshop, a complete, portable play center featuring a large, angled play surface was introduced.

in 1996

Play-Doh Compound celebrated its 40th Birthday and introduced two colors, Gold and Silver, "wacky" scented compounds, including Funshine Sunshine™,Splurple™ and Pinktastic™, and Splash ‘n Play-Doh® Soap™, a Play-Doh compound that was a real moldable soap, too. Also, the Play-Doh Brand goes high-tech with the introduction of a new CD ROM game, Play-Doh Creations, an educational software program for children.

in 1997

The Play-Doh Brand Fuzzy Pumper® Barber & Beauty Shop, featuring a play figure whose "hair" can be extruded and then styled, is re-introduced. The set also comes with two characters and two new scented Play-Doh compounds-- shampoo and shaving cream. The first version of this playset was popular in the 1970’s, and this reintroduction sold one million units in 1997.

in 1998

The Play-Doh Brand featured food as the year’s theme, introducing the McDonaldland® Happy Meal® Playshop, the Ice Cream Playshop and the Making Meals/Pizza Party® & Sandwich Shop. Kids can serve up many tasty-looking creations!

in 1999

The Play-Doh Brand takes to the "great outdoors" with the Jungle Playset, Swamp Playset and Seaside Playset. New textures are introduced, including "sandy" and "wet" Play-Doh Compound, a "furry" Jungle-Doh and even a compound with a sea-fresh scent. Also new is the Spaghetti Playshop, which features an extruder that allows kids to easily make the longest Play-Doh extrusion! The Play-Doh Brand also teams up with the Peanuts characters in the Snoopy & Friends Baseball Stampers, complete with collectible figures that stamp a personalized image with Play-Doh compound.

Did you know...

The formula for the original Play-Doh compound still remains top secret.
Play-Doh Compound is the leader in the reusable compound market.
Today, Play-Doh Compound is sold in more than 6,000 stores in the United States and in more than 75 countries worldwide.
If combined, the total amount of Play-Doh Compound manufactured since 1956 would weigh more than 700 million pounds. That’s equal to the weight of almost two Grand Coulee Dams in Washington or the weight of 159 fully-loaded Space Shuttles.
More than 2 billion cans of Play-Doh Compound have been sold since 1956.
Approximately 95 million cans of Play-Doh Compound are manufactured each year, including 1-ounce, 2-ounce and 6-ounce cans combined.
If all the Play-Doh Compound made since 1956 was extruded through the Fun Factory®, it would make a "snake" that would wrap around the world nearly 300 times.