Notable people · Inventor · Manufacturer
Noah W. McVicker
Noah McVicker created the original putty-like wallpaper cleaner at Kutol Products in Cincinnati in the 1930s. It was later reformulated as Play-Doh, and he and nephew Joseph McVicker are named on the 1960 patent application (US 3,167,440, issued 1965).
At a glance
- Known as
- Inventor, Manufacturer
- Organizations
- Kutol Products
Life story
Noah McVicker worked as a soap maker at Kutol Products in Cincinnati. In the 1930s he created a non-toxic putty to clean coal residue off wallpaper, at the request of Kroger.
When wallpaper cleaners fell out of use, his nephew Joseph joined Kutol and the putty was reworked as a children's modeling compound in the mid-1950s.
Noah wanted to call it Rainbow Modeling Compound. It was sold as Play-Doh after Rainbow Crafts formed in 1956, and the patent came in 1965.
Timeline
What Noah is known for
- Created the wallpaper cleaner that became Play-Doh, Cincinnati
- Wallpaper cleaner that became Play-Doh
- Patent 3,167,440 (existing record)
Inventions and firsts
- Play-Doh (1956) credit is disputed
Family
- nephew: Joseph McVicker
- relative: Kay Zufall
Ohio places
Where Noah W. McVicker was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Worked: Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45202 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Play-Doh - Wikipedia Noah's role
