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The Evolution of Mr. Potato Head
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1949: A SPUD IS BORN Brooklyn-born toy inventor George Lerner tries to capitalize on kids who like to play with their food. Surprisingly, Lerner's idea of creating face and body parts that can be jabbed into potatoes is a hard sell. Toy companies worry that parents who've just lived through World War II-era food shortages will balk at the thought of wasting perfectly good food. 1952: THE TUBER SPREADS Hasbro sees the genius in Lerner's product and agrees to market it, creating the first-ever TV ads for a toy. It turns out that parents have few misgivings about squandering their potatoes; more than 1 million Mr. Potato Heads sell that year alone.
1950s: FAMILY MAN Mr. Potato Head gets an arranged marriage. In 1953, Hasbro outfits him with an instant family: Mrs. Potato Head, son Spud, and a daughter, Yam. He also gets a car, a boat, and a kitchen in the deal. Within a few years, the likable Spud makes friends with pal Katie the Carrot and Pete the Pepper. 1964 & 1974: ATTACK OF THE ROTTEN POTATOES When parents complain about finding moldy potatoes under their kids' beds, Mr. Potato Head ditches his organic body for a plastic one. Ten years later, new rules about choking hazards compel Hasbro to merge the head and body into one legless lump.
Mr. Potato Head trades his dapper hat for a green baseball cap and exchanges his loafers for blue tennis shoes. In keeping with his new, sportier look, he also quits smoking in 1987 for the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. To show his support for the anti-smoking campaign, he publicly hands over his signature tobacco pipe to U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. 1992: FRIES ON THE SIDE
1995: SUPERSIZED Mr. Potato Head makes his big-screen debut in Toy Story, the first film ever made using only computer-generated imagery. But perhaps his most prestigious gig is yet to come. In 2000, Mr. Potato Head becomes the official travel ambassador for Rhode Island, "the Birthplace of Fun," where Hasbro is headquartered. |
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The article above appeared in the Jan - Feb 2010 issue of mental_floss magazine. It is reprinted here with permission. Don't forget to feed your brain by subscribing to the magazine and visiting mental_floss' extremely entertaining website and blog today!
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1980s:
A SPOKESSPUD IS BORN
Arnold
Schwarzenegger and the President's Council on Physical Fitness give him
an award for abandoning his couch-potato lifestyle. Curiously, his new
healthy habits don't stop Mr. Potato Head from endorsing Burger King,
McDonald's, Wendy's, and Hardee's.
kj
Skipweasel
AMCabral
Paul Shefrin
