Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1956
Play-Doh
Noah McVicker of Cincinnati's Kutol Products made a putty for cleaning coal soot off wallpaper; with sales falling, nephew Joe McVicker joined, and nursery-school teacher Kay Zufall (Joe's sister-in-law per the source) suggested a toy use and the name Play-Doh. Rainbow Crafts launched it in 1956.
At a glance
- Year
- 1956
- Company
- Kutol Products
- Place
- Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45202 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County
The story
Play-Doh began as a cleaning product, not a toy. In Cincinnati, Noah McVicker of Kutol Products made a soft, non-toxic putty meant to clean coal soot from wallpaper in homes heated with coal.
After World War II, demand fell as homes switched to natural gas and vinyl wallpaper became common. Kutol's business was in trouble. Joe McVicker, Noah's nephew, tried to find a new use, and his sister-in-law Kay Zufall, a nursery school teacher, read about the compound's use as modeling material, tried it with her students, and liked the results.
Zufall and her husband named it Play-Doh, turning down the first suggestion of Rainbow Modeling Compound. The Rainbow Crafts Company launched it in 1956. Demonstrations in department stores such as Macy's and Marshall Field's went well, and ads on children's television, including Captain Kangaroo, followed; by 1958 sales were nearly $3 million.
Ownership moved on: General Mills bought Rainbow Crafts in 1965, Tonka acquired it in 1987, and Hasbro took control in 1991. Play-Doh entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Timeline
- 1956: Rainbow Crafts launches Play-Doh as a toy. (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1958: Sales reach nearly $3 million. (United States) source
- 1965: General Mills buys Rainbow Crafts. source
- 1987: Tonka acquires the brand. source
- 1991: Hasbro takes control. source
- 1998: Play-Doh enters the National Toy Hall of Fame. source
What it changed
- Sales reached nearly $3 million by 1958, two years after launch.
- Inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Why it matters
One of the best-selling toys.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Noah McVicker of Cincinnati's Kutol Products made a putty for cleaning wallpaper, and Rainbow Crafts launched it as Play-Doh in 1956.
The other claims. Accounts differ on who deserves credit for turning it into a toy, including nursery-school teacher Kay Zufall and Joe McVicker, and the patent history is disputed.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
