Celebrate National Play-doh Day!

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Celebrate National Play-Doh Day - 10 Facts - Columbia SC Moms Blog

I don’t know about you, but in our house Play-Doh is a big deal. My boys LOVE it and it’s as much of a staple in our house as peanut butter!

I love it too. It fosters so much creativity in my boys and it’s fun to see them using their imaginations to create everything from snowmen, dessert and Star Wars characters, to spaghetti, animals and castles.

Well, for all you other Play-Doh lovers out there it’s time to celebrate our favorite molding compound. September 16th is National Play-Doh Day! And this year is special because it also happens to be Play-Doh’s 60th birthday. So let’s celebrate by learning 10 fun facts about Play-Doh.

Play-Doh was first sold as wallpaper cleaner.

When it first showed up on the market in the 1930’s, the fun squishy substance was never intended as something for children to play with. People would purchase Play-Doh and roll it on their wallpaper in order to remove dirt and grime. Eventually Joe McVicker, the creator of Play-Doh, found out his sister-in-law was using it to create crafts in her nursery school classroom. The two realized they could make a wonderful children’s product from it and the rest is history!

Since it’s inception in 1956, more than 2 billion cans of Play-Doh have been sold.

That’s more than 950 million pounds! Not bad for something that started out as wallpaper cleaner.

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Play-Doh might not have been popular if it weren’t for Captain Kangaroo.

Joe McVickar didn’t have much of an advertising budget when Play-Doh first came on the market. So he struck a deal with Bob Keeshan, A.K.A. Captain Kangaroo, who would feature Play-Doh on his show once a week in exchange for two percent of Play-Doh sales. Keeshan liked it so much that he ended up featuring it on the show three times a week and the popularity of Play-Doh soared.

You can smell like Play-Doh if you want to.

Demeter Fragrance Library worked with Hasbro to create a cologne spray that smells just like Play-Doh. The fragrance was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Play-Doh ten years ago and the company still sells it today. So if you fall into the category of “highly-creative people, who seek a whimsical scent reminiscent of their childhood,” Play-Doh cologne spray is perfect for you.

The exact ingredients of Play-Doh are a secret.

Hop on over to the Play-Doh website and you’ll see the only information Hasbro will reveal about the ingredients are “it is primarily a mixture of water, salt and flour. It does NOT contain peanuts, peanut oil, or any milk byproducts. It DOES contain wheat.”

There are over 100 million cans of Play-Doh produced each year.

Play-Doh is the #1 reusable modeling compound. And why wouldn’t it be? Bright vibrant colors, soft and squishy stuff you can mold into just about anything … who wouldn’t love it? (For all those moms out there right now screaming, “I don’t love it because it gets stuck in my carpet,” check out the Hasbro FAQ page for some tips on how to clean up Play-Doh.)

How much would a big ball of all the Play-Doh compound ever created weigh?

700 million pounds! Saying that’s a lot of Play-Doh is a ridiculous understatement.

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You can turn your empty Play-Doh cans into works of art.

Play-Doh doesn’t last forever, but you don’t have to throw away that empty can just because the Play-Doh is gone. Check out these adorable crafts, toys and games you and your children can create with the empty cans.

Play-Doh drying out? There’s a way you can moisten it so it lasts longer.

Try adding water one drop at a time and working it into the Play-Doh to help moisten it. You can also wrap it in a damp paper towel, return it to the container and let it sit over night.

There is an urban legend surrounding Play-Doh.

If you were to take all the Play-Doh that has been created since it’s inception in 1956 and put it through the Play-Doh Fun Factory, it would make a snake that would wrap around the world 300 times.

What do you love about Play-Doh?

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