I Just Learned What Play-Doh Was Originally Used For – And It's Very Unexpected

Play-Doh Play-Doh is a craft cupboard staple in many homes around the world.There’s no mistaking those bright yellow tubs with colourful lids – we have a box full of them and they help fill hours of time when the weather’s a bit naff (which is happening more frequently as autumn inches closer).But did you know Play-Doh wasn’t originally something for kids to play with?In fact, I only recently learned that the squishy modelling compound (made primarily of water, flour and salt) was originally used to *checks notes* clean walls. Yup! According to the National Museum of Play, the modelling compound began its life as wallpaper cleaner. Back in the 1920s, a Cincinnati-based soap company called Kutol was fighting against going under.One of the members was tasked with selling off assets and then attempted to make the company viable again by creating a wallpaper cleaner to help remove soot stains on people’s walls (coal fires were popular at the time).Per Today I Found Out, the wallpaper cleaner product helped the company stay afloat for some time, however after World War II, coal fires were replaced by oil and gas heaters, and vinyl wallpaper was created which was easily washable with soap and water. Wallpaper cleaner sales were falling and the company needed a miracle.Long story short, a member of the family, Kay Zufall, needed cheap materials to make Christmas decorations with the kids at her nursery school and read that she could use wallpaper cleaner for it. She bought Kutol’s wallpaper cleaner and tried it out – and it worked. The kids loved playing with it, too.When she passed on this feedback to her brother-in-law at the company, they pivoted to create a children’s product instead – adding a nice scent and, over the years, colouring.By the mid 1950s, the wallpaper cleaner had officially become Play-Doh – a name reportedly suggested by the nursery teacher herself. Fast forward to today and Play-Doh has sold more than 3 billion cans, according to Fortune magazine. Not too shabby for a bit of wallpaper cleaner...Related...Ask An Expert: How To Get Your Kid To Stay In Their Own Bed At NightHere's What Singers Do If They Have To Pee On Stage, And It's HorrifyingCan A Hairclip Help Cure Migraines? I Asked A Doctor

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I Just Learned What Play-Doh Was Originally Used For – And It's Very Unexpected

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