Welcome to Wiser Now’s weekly email blast which reflects my eclectic interests and, I hope, yours. This week, my focus is on Retro Toys Day, coming up April 30. That’s the 70th anniversary of the day Mr. Potato Head debuted on television – the first toy to be advertised on that new medium just beginning to infiltrate every household. He was introduced on the Jackie Gleason Show as “the most wonderful friend a boy or girl could have,” which is a bit sad if you stop to think about it. But a LOT more friendly toys debuted in the 1950s. Let’s play!
I hope you find these offerings fun, and perhaps even useful, and welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com) And if you haven’t yet pressed the subscribe button so this newsletter doesn’t go to spam, please do so now.
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The Quirky Quote
Our brains are built to benefit from play no matter what our age. ~ psychologist Theresa A. Kestly
The Quirky Facts
The best toys give free rein to the imagination and are enduring, which certainly describes Mr. Potato Head, now over 70 and still going strong. It has changed many times since its 1949 invention by George Lerner. By the time of its TV debut, it was the product of the Hassenfeld Brothers Company (later shortened to Hasbro) with George Lerner receiving 5% in royalties for each kit sold. The price was only 98 cents then, but when TV advertising generated more than a million sales in that first year alone, Mr. Lerner did all right.
The first kits contained a Styrofoam head to give kids an idea of what to do with the 30 accessories. Mothers were supposed to supply a real potato – or any fruit or vegetable of their choice. It did not take long for the company to add other accessories (50 more for 50 cents) and a car, boat trailer, kitchen set, stroller, and pets. But mothers had begun to complain about the waste of mutilated fruits and vegetables, especially when children didn’t put away their toys, and rotting food was found under the couch. Thus, beginning in 1964, Mr. Potato Head kits came with a plastic head.
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Another bow to consumer concerns was the change from the original small, pointed spikes on each piece that could easily pierce vegetables (and fingers) to thicker, rounded ends that could easily slide into a plastic potato. And he lost his pipe in a bow to anti-smoking campaigns.
But from there things went wild and are still changing. The original Mr. Potato Head was exactly that – just a potato head, with a separate plastic body that had arms and legs.
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Over time, Mr. was joined by a Mrs., lost his body, arms, and legs, regained them, gained a trapdoor backside for storing all the parts, went to the moon (kit version), became a tourist, and developed ever more accessories. You can get a potato head with pirate or rockstar accessories, among many other versions.
Hasbro has dropped the “Mr.” on their branding and encourages consumers “To Create Your Potato Head Family,” possibly with an “adorable baby sprout” that includes “a 3-inch potato body plus a plastic diaper accessory that looks like baked potato foil, and a butter and sour cream pacifier accessory.”
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Not to be outdone, Playskool’s Mr. Potato Head, advertises its version (with parts compatible to Hasbro’s version) as having all these advantages: slimmer, more accessory holes (exactly where and for what is not stated), Tater Tush for storing parts, mustache, mouth with teeth, glasses, one pair of legs with shoes and at least eight other parts.
How can anyone resist?
The Quirky Observations
Mr. Potato Head was only one enduring retro toy introduced in the 1950s. Others included:
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- Silly Putty – 1950
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The Magic 8 Ball – 1950 (which we wrote about in an earlier Wiser Now Wednesday)
- Matchbox cars – 1954
- Play-Doh – 1955
- Yahtzee – 1956
- Frisbee – 1957
- Hula Hoop – 1958
- Skateboard – 1958
- Barbie Doll – 1959
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Please Spread the Word
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Directions for Sharing
Each week, the links to the current and seven previous Wiser Now Wednesdays are provided in the archive (“WN Wed Archive” on the far right of the menu bar). Click on the issue you want to share, and when it appears, at the top of the screen you will see “Share” with an f for Facebook and a bird for Twitter. Click on them to share to your contacts or just copy the URL at the top of your screen and send it to them in an email. Thank you!
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The Questions
- Did you ever play with a Mr. Potato Head of some sort? Did you enjoy it?
- Do you have fond memories of any of the other retro toys we mentioned? Share them.
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How important do you think imagination is in fostering creative thinking?
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The Quiz - Can you tell what's true about these retro toys?
Two of these descriptions of toys that became popular with kids in the 1950s are false. Can you tell which ones?
1. The View-Master had its commercial beginnings in 1939 when it was marketed primarily to adults and featured round reels of national parks and scenic attractions. But in 1951, the company acquired the rights to Disney character scenes, and it has been primarily a kid’s toy ever since.
2. The key to the Magic 8 ball is a 20-sided polygon bearing 10 affirmative, five negative, and five neutral or vague (“Reply hazy, try again”) responses to any yes or no question you ask it, so your best bet is to ask it a question that you want a yes to.
3. One smell most of us remember from childhood (or our children’s childhood) is the odor of Play-Doh, the brightly colored, nontoxic modeling clay. This product was accidentally invented in 1955 by Joseph and Noah McVicker who were trying to make a less messy, non-rubberized eraser.
4. Sea Monkeys – advertised in comic books everywhere as if they would turn into living cartoon characters – were a species of tiny brine shrimp that could “live” in suspended animation for years until water returned to their habitat, making them a perfect mail order pet. Just add salt water.
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5. The original Barbie Doll – complete with pouty lips and sideways glance – was modeled after a risqué German doll sold in tobacco shops and bars to men.
6. The Hula Hoop was a cheaper, more colorful, and lighter weight version of an Italian product. In 1958, at the height of its popularity, more than 50 million were sold. Doctors did a great business treating hips pulled from their sockets.
7. The Frisbee’s origins date to the Frisbie Bakery, founded in 1871 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A generation later, workers reportedly broke up their workday by playing catch with the pie tins. The pastime caught on with nearby Yale University students, and spread to other college campuses, but it would be another generation – 1956 – before the Frisbee as we know it today took flight.
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The Resources
Photo credits are from iStock, the embedded resources, and those listed above.
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Answers to the quiz
3. False. They were trying to make a new wallpaper cleaner.
6. False. The Hula Hoop, was a cheaper, more colorful and lighter weight version of an Australian product. In 1958, at the height of its popularity, more than 80 million were sold. Doctors did a great business treating wrenched backs and torn abdominal muscles.
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My multiple goals are to amuse and inspire you, to share what I and people whom I admire are doing, to stimulate your curiosity and spur you to action. I hope you enjoyed this offering. You can access previous issues here. I welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com)
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