(Roughly) Daily

The story of a toy that both confirms and contradicts that sentiment, Mr. Potato Head…

Mr. Potato Head is an American toy brand consisting of a plastic model of a potato “head” to which a variety of plastic parts can attach — typically ears, eyes, shoes, hat, nose, pants and mouth.

Mr. Potato Head was invented and manufactured by George Lerner in 1949, but was first distributed by Hasbro in 1952… In its original form, Mr. Potato Head was offered as separate plastic parts with pushpins to be affixed to a real potato or other vegetable. Due to complaints regarding rotting vegetables and new government safety regulations, Hasbro began including a plastic potato body with the toy set in 1964.

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In the early 1940s, Brooklyn-born toy inventor George Lerner came up with the idea of inserting small, pronged body and face parts into fruits and vegetables to create a “funny face man”. Some speculate he got the idea from his wife’s nephew Aaron Bradley, who was seen placing sticks inside of potatoes in the family garden. Lerner would often take potatoes from his mother’s garden and, using various other fruits and vegetables as facial features, he would make dolls with which his younger sisters could play. The grape-eyed, carrot-nosed, potato-headed dolls became the principal idea behind the plastic toy which would later be manufactured.

Mr, Potato Head turned out to be a trailblazer– the pioneer of a new form of marketing that supercharged the toy category and paved the way for the toy-character-centered entertainment environment in which we live…

On April 30, 1952, Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on television. The campaign was also the first to be aimed directly at children; before this, commercials were only targeted at adults, including toy advertisements. The commercial revolutionized marketing, and caused an industrial boom. Over one million kits were sold in the first year…

“Mr. Potato Head” from @Wikipedia.

Image above: from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum

* John Cowper Powys

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As we play, we might send tasty birthday greetings to the literary genius behind green eggs and ham, Theodor Seuss Geisel, AKA “Dr. Seuss”; he was born on this date in 1904.  After a fascinating series of early-career explorations, Geisel settled on a style that created what turned out to be the perfect “gateway drug” to book addiction– and a love of words– for generations of young readers.

The more that you read,

The more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

The more places you’ll go.

– I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! (1978)

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