{"id":94491,"date":"2023-09-18T10:59:58","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T14:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=94491"},"modified":"2023-09-29T11:47:53","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T15:47:53","slug":"from-wallpaper-to-childs-play-play-dough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/from-wallpaper-to-childs-play-play-dough.html","title":{"rendered":"From Wallpaper to Child\u2019s Play: Play Dough"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article \u2013 in honor of Sept. 16 being National Play-Doh Day \u2013 Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about the history of this popular modeling clay for children. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you know that this past Saturday, September 16, was National Play-Doh Day? This got me to wondering: what memories of childhood toys do you have? Can you conjure up the images of toys you played with? What sounds did they make? Did they have a smell? Most people can recollect the smell of crayons \u2013 but there is another toy that has a specific smell that you might remember.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: objects made with Play-Doh (Play-Doh is a trademark of Hasbro). Credit: \u00a9 Nevit Dilmen; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the early 20th<\/sup> century, a pliable \u201cdough\u201d was sold by Kutol Products as a wallpaper cleaner. Dirty wallpaper was a problem, especially with the use of coal and other non-clean energy sources used to heat a home. But as time marched on and families started to heat their homes with cleaner fuels, they no longer had a need for wallpaper cleaner.<\/p>\n

Joseph McVicker was trying to save Kutol Products now that this wallpaper cleaner wasn\u2019t in high demand. His sister-in-law read an article about using wallpaper cleaner as modeling clay, which she then tried out on the nursery school children she taught. The kids loved it.<\/p>\n

A look at historical newspapers shows that a recipe published in 1949, and for several years after, encouraged mothers to either use wallpaper cleaner or to make their own play dough to keep their kids busy. (1)<\/p>\n

For example, this 1949 recipe begins by suggesting that the reader go to a wall paper supply house to acquire wall paper paste. Those who wanted to could make their own with cornstarch, salt, flour, water, oil and food coloring.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 10 November 1949, page 83<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rest, as they say, is history. A new product named \u201cPlay-Doh\u201d was born.<\/p>\n

Play Dough in the Newspaper<\/strong><\/p>\n

Play-Doh was initially advertised as a way for busy mothers to occupy their children\u2019s time: \u201c\u2026clean and non-staining, ready to use immediately\u2026 may be used over and over again for 3 years\u2026 non-toxic and pleasant smelling…\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 27 April 1956, page 47<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the modeling clay caught on, imitators started selling the compound as well. Play-Doh is the brand name for a specific product whereas \u201cplay dough\u201d was used by competitors and in printed recipes.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Staten Island Advance (Staten Island, New York), 17 October 1961, page 21<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Play dough was popular with kids. Historical newspapers not only advertised it but also printed letters kids wrote to Santa that included play dough in their lists of must-have toys.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Huntsville Times (Huntsville, Alabama), 24 December 1958, page 42<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Play in the Kitchen: Making Your Own Play Dough<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can purchase Play-Doh and other brands of modeling clay, but you can also make it at home. The benefit of making it is that your kids can help and customize it. They can create as many color variations as they like. I\u2019ve seen recipes in community cookbooks submitted by moms for the modeling compound, but you can also find recipes in historical newspapers.<\/p>\n

This 1997 set of play dough recipes are non-toxic and edible and include the basics found in any play dough recipe: salt, flour, water, and oil. Batches of the dough can be colored using either food coloring or Kool-Aid.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Florida), 3 July 1997, page 118<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want a new idea for using play dough, take a look at this 1972 newspaper article titled \u201cTips on Crafts for Girl Scouts.\u201d It suggests using the dough to make beads that can be stringed.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Massachusetts), 6 April 1972, page 23<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

National Play-Doh Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to one source, 3 billion cans of Play-Doh have been sold since its rebranding as a child\u2019s toy in 1956. (2) Originally sold in one color, white, it later could be found in red, blue, and yellow. Today you can find children\u2019s modeling clay in many different colors and hues. Some even look metallic or sparkle. Beside the modeling compound, you can buy sets that help you create everything from Play-Doh food to ponies. What was true back in 1956 is still true today: play dough helps entertain children and allows them to explore and create.<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> Play-Doh Fun Factory (Play-Doh is a trademark of Hasbro). Credit: Larry D. Moore, <\/em>CC BY-SA 3.0<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n

_________________________<\/p>\n

(1) \u201cThe Accidental Invention of Play-Doh,\u201d Smithsonian (https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/innovation\/accidental-invention-play-doh-180973527\/<\/a>: accessed 11 September 2023).
\n(2) Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of Sept. 16 being National Play-Doh Day, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about the history of this popular modeling clay for children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":94517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12339],"tags":[58559,58557,58555,38331],"class_list":["post-94491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games-puzzles","tag-modeling-clay","tag-play-dough","tag-play-doh","tag-toys"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/photo-0916-2023-featured-graphic-play-doh-fun-factory.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94491"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94515,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94491\/revisions\/94515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}