Mr. Potato Head is a popular children's doll, consisting of a plastic model of a potato. Originally, the potato is blank; however, it can be decorated with numerous attachable plastic parts to make a face, including a moustache, hat, nose and other features.
History
Mr. Potato Head was the invention of George Lerner in the late 1940s. The idea was originally sold to a cereal manufacturer so that the separate parts could be distributed as cereal package premiums. This was not successful and Lerner bought back the rights to textile manufacturers Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld, who did business as the Hassenfeld Brothers, later to be shortened to Hasbro. When it was first sold to the public in 1952 it became the first toy to be sold through national television advertising and netted Hasbro over $4 million in Mr. Potato Head sales in its first year of production. In 1953, Mrs. Potato Head was added, and soon after Brother Spud and Sister Yam completed the Potato Head family. Although originally produced as separate plastic parts to be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable, a plastic body was added to the kit in 1964. Numerous other accessories were produced for Mr. Potato Head, and in 1974 the main potato part of the toy doubled in size and had its accessories size similarly increased. This was done mainly due to new toy child safety regulations that were introduced by the U.S. government. Hasbro also replaced the holes with flat slats, thus disallowing users to stick on the toys face and other body parts the wrong way around. In the 1980s Hasbro reduced their range of accessories for Mr. Potato Head to one set of parts, and in 1987, the American Cancer Society got Hasbro to stop making a pipe to go with Mr. Potato Head. They did however reintroduce round holes in the main potato body, and once again parts were able to go onto the toy the wrong way around. He has appeared in both Toy Story movies, had his own Fox Kids show, and advertised fries for Burger King in commercials.
Trivia
- In 1992 Mr. Potato Head received the Presidential Sports Award from the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports.
- Mr. Potato Head received four write-in votes in the 1985 mayoral election in Boise, Idaho.
- Mr. Potato Head became the office "spokespud" for the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout in 1987.
- In early 2000, Mr. Potato Head was named the official Ambassador for the Rhode Island State Tourism Board. Story of Rhode Island's Family Travel Ambassadors online.
- In 2001, David and Kathy Reineke, hot-air balloon enthusiasts, created a Mr. Potato Head shaped Cameron Balloon that was 85 feet (26 m) tall and held 115,000 cubic feet (3260 m³) of air. [1] [2]
- On February 12, 2002, Mr. Potato Head rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
- When Mr. Potato Head turned 50 in 2002, he was given an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) card.
- The 1996 League of Women Voters used Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head to promote their "get out & vote" campaign.
- In 2004 Hasbro announced a new version of Mr. Potato Head, Darth Tater, to be produced as a tie in to the movie "Star Wars: Episode III-- Revenge of the Sith." CNN news report
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