A fortunate happenstance gave the McVicker brothers wealth and celebrity among people interested in inventions. A clay product the two men wanted to use to clean wallpaper turned out to have excellent properties for replacing modeling clay as a toy for children.
Play-Doh modeling compound was first sold in the great Washington, D.C., department store Woodward & Lothrop in 1956. At that time it was available only in white--sort of the reverse of the old story about Henry Ford's Model T, of which Ford is reputed to have said, "You can have it in any color you like, as long as it's black." Today Play-Doh can be bought in many colors.
Play-Doh doesn't stain, isn't toxic, and stays pliable if kids can remember to keep the can sealed after use.
The happy product has sold hundreds of millions of pounds. Its rights were sold to General Mills in 1965, then to Tonka in 1987 and finally to Hasbro in 1991.
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