How Play-Doh Went From Being a Household Cleaning Supply to a Beloved Toy
Salty, colorful compound turns 60, but stays cool
Joseph McVicker was in big trouble. Kutol Products, his Cincinnati company, manufactured a gummy, doughy product that housewives used to remove coal soot from wallpaper. But now it was 1955. Not only were vinyl wallpapers coming onto the market, but homes were switching from coal stoves to oil and natural gas that burned cleaner. Kutol was fast becoming obsolete.
