Who created Play-Doh?

Sometimes the best things in life come unexpectedly. And Play-doh is one of them.

Noah McVicker of Kutol Products, the creator of Play-doh, first invented it as a wallpaper cleaner made from flour, water, salt, and other ingredients. It turned out to look like putty.

It was the time when all households used coal-based heating in their homes. And there was a need for a product to clean all the coal residue in wallpapers; hence the putty was born.

As evolution took place, natural gas took the place of the old heating system. Alongside this, it was also the time when washable vinyl wallpapers were introduced in the market. There was no longer a demand for the putty cleaner.

What happens next was a blessing in disguise.

Unknowingly, Noah McVicker had no idea that his non-toxic, reusable, and moldable putty could be more than just a wallpaper cleaner. It was created for something bigger and grand! Some teachers started letting their students use the putty to create things in their art and crafts.

The putty worked as a modeling compound or clay because of its soft texture that could be shaped and reshaped over and over again.

It might sound cliché, but what’s meant to be will be, and it would find its way.

Joseph McVicker, Noah’s nephew, joined their company years later. He paved the way for this putty to become what it is today. He learned from his sister-in-law, Amy Zufall, who’s a nursery teacher back then, that there’s a newspaper article about the wallpaper cleaner being used in arts and crafts.

This gave them the idea to suggest to Noah McVicker to market their putty as a child’s toy. It was Amy Zufall and her husband who named this iconic putty, Play-Doh.

From there on, Play-Doh became an instant success in 1956! The McVickers formed the Rainbow Crafts Company.

The once single-colored putty now comes in over 50 colors all over the world.

You can find Play-Doh toys on Amazon.