A Nutty Putty Affair

Silly Putty was introduced to the public in 1950. Initially, the substance was an attempt to create a synthetic rubber substitute during World War II. While working for General Electric in 1943, James Wright combined boric acid and silicone oil in a test tube to create a new rubbery substance, an intriguing “nutty putty.” As he began to play with it, his accidental discovery bounced higher than rubber, stretched to great distances, snapped with sharp tugs, and could pick up ink from any printed matter. 

Without a practical purpose, the putty was passed around among friends. In 1949, it eventually found its way into the hands of a toy store owner whose marketing consultant, Peter Hodgson, identified the putty potential and purchased the rights from General Electric to sell the stuff himself. Hodgson packaged it in small plastic eggs and named it Silly Putty. After being featured in a New Yorker article, sales surged to 250,000 in just three days. Since its introduction, more than 300 million Silly Putty eggs have been sold.

More silly details at THOUGHTCO. and how to make it yourself.

Kutol-Dough

Kutol was founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1912 and originally sold powdered hand cleaner and a few other cleaning products. Kutol was floundering during the next decade. Saving the company from failure, Cleo McVicker bought Kuto in 1927 and made it profitable. He then purchased the company from Precision Metal Workers, owners of Kutol, and worked with Kroger to manufacture the largest seller of wallpaper cleaner "putty" in the world. But time waits for no one. By the 1950s, the days of cleaning sooty build-up from walls came to an end. The coal-burning furnaces were being replaced by cleaner natural gas or electricity. 

As the saying goes, "It's not what you know but who you know." McVicker's sister-in-law, Kay Zufall, tested the nontoxic material for modeling projects on her kindergarten students and they loved molding it into all kinds of shapes. Zufall also suggested the Play-Doh name. The original odor might best be described as the comforting smell of vanilla wheat dough. The McVickers formed the Rainbow Crafts Company to make  Play-Doh Modeling Compound in 1956. After several buy-outs, Hasbro now owns the company. Play-Doh has grown into a worldwide franchise generating a lot of dough for selling over 3 billion cans since becoming a child’s toy.

Not The Arthur Toy Company

 

Buddy L is an American toy brand and company founded in 1920 by Fred Lundahl as the Buddy L Toy Company in East Moline, Illinois. The all-steel products were pressed into toy cars, dump trucks, delivery vans, fire engines, construction equipment, and trains. The Lundahl's first and only child, Arthur, was nicknamed "Buddy L" to differentiate him from another neighborhood boy named Buddy. I imagine Arthur was the envy of the neighborhood as his doting father constructed numerous toy vehicles for him, some of which were large enough to sit upon and propel with his feet. Lundahl persuaded Marshall Field and FAO Schwarz to carry his line, which did very well until the Depression. He then sold the company and it has bounced around between different owners ever since, distancing itself from its original realism with each venture. 

Note: The 1960 steel Buddy L pickup truck/camper pictured is identical to one I had. The active front spring suspension was mighty impressive. The hard plastic camper could be removed if one chose to do so. Eventually, I did so. 

Pluto Platter. Just Call It a Frisbee.

Headquartered in Emeryville, California, since 1948, Wham-O, Inc. has provided children and adults with innovative, imaginative toys that spark creativity, encourage social interaction and get kids playing. The Wham-O name was meant to evoke the sound of a slingshot when it connected with a target. Wham-O continually redefines the concept of fun by remaining simple, uncomplicated and without age boundaries. In 1958, Wham-O introduced the Hula Hoop, which became a national phenomenon.

But first came the Frisbee in 1957, thanks to a California carpenter, Fred Morrison (above), who obtained a patent in 1955 for his plastic throwing discs he called Pluto Platters and cashing in on the martian craze at the time. He sold the rights to Wham-O and within the year, they had sold a million discs. In 1958 Wham-O enhanced the design of the disc and renamed it Frisbee---the origins of the name are immersed in mythology---though the Pluto Platter name remained on the disc for some time after. The Frisbee proved an enduring favorite, and eventually Wham-O marketed and promoted the toy, creating a Frisbee sport and then sanctioning national competitions by the 1960s. Frisbee sports grew so popular that by 1974 the World Frisbee Disc Championships were held in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Many manufacturers have since produced their own versions of the "flying saucers" yet most are colloquially referred to as a frisbee.

Bullish and Bearish

 

On this day in 1903, the first Teddy Bear went on sale in America, named after President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, and made by Russian immigrants Morris and Rose Michtom. A year earlier, the teddy bear name was spawned by a political cartoon in The Washington Post. Morris saw the drawing and was inspired to create a teddy bear. He created a tiny soft bear cub and sent one to Roosevelt and received permission to use his nickname. The Michtom's then placed one in the shop window with a sign "Teddy's Bear." The cuddly toy was an immediate success, celebrated in story, song, and film. Michtom went on to found the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, the largest doll-making manufacturer at the time in the United States.