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WonderTechnology fact

Play-Doh began as a putty for cleaning coal soot off wallpaper, made by Kutol Products of Cincinnati. When homes switched from coal to gas heating, sales collapsed, until a nursery teacher found that children loved modelling with it.

Cincinnati, 1956

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The story behind the card

By the 1950s Kutol was close to bankruptcy, and Joe McVicker had joined to try to save it. His sister-in-law Kay Zufall, a nursery school teacher, read a newspaper article about using wallpaper cleaner for children's art, tried it with her pupils and saw how much they enjoyed it. She persuaded McVicker and his uncle Noah to sell it as a toy, and she and her husband came up with the name Play-Doh. The cleaning detergent was left out, and colours and a new scent were added. In 1956 the McVickers set up the Rainbow Crafts Company to make it. The brand passed through several owners before Hasbro bought it in 1991, and more than two billion cans were sold in its first 50 years.

Türkçe oku
Play-Doh, Cincinnati'deki Kutol şirketinin duvar kâğıdındaki kömür isini silmek için ürettiği bir macun olarak doğdu. Evlerde kömür sobalarının yerini gazlı ısıtma alınca satışlar çöktü; derken bir anaokulu öğretmeni, çocukların bu macunla şekil yapmaya bayıldığını fark etti.
Cincinnati, 1956

1950'lerde Kutol iflasın eşiğindeydi ve Joe McVicker şirketi kurtarmak için işin başına geçmişti. Onun akrabası olan anaokulu öğretmeni Kay Zufall, bir gazetede duvar kâğıdı temizleyicisiyle çocuklara sanat etkinlikleri yaptırmaktan söz eden bir yazı okudu. Macunu sınıfında denedi ve çocukların ona bayıldığını gördü. Joe McVicker ile amcası Noah'yı bunu oyuncak olarak satmaya ikna etti; Play-Doh adını da eşiyle birlikte o buldu. Temizleyicideki deterjan çıkarıldı, macuna renkler ve yeni bir koku katıldı. McVicker'lar 1956'da onu üretmek için Rainbow Crafts şirketini kurdu. Marka birkaç kez el değiştirdikten sonra 1991'de Hasbro'ya geçti. İlk 50 yılında iki milyardan fazla kutu satıldı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Play-Doh
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