Mr. Potato Head
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
[edit] History
Mr. Potato Head was the invention of George Lerner in the late 1940s. The idea was originally sold to a breakfast cereal manufacturer so that the separate parts could be distributed as cereal package premiums. This was not successful and Lerner bought back the rights and ultimately sold the product to textile manufacturers Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld, who did business as the Hassenfeld Brothers, later shortened to Hasbro.
When the toy was first manufactured, it came with few accessories. However, because of popular demand, Hassenfeld Brothers began to develop new versions of the toy. For example, one version includes both a toga and a party hat. Some other accessories include a chef's hat, gorilla fur, and large false eyelashes. One of the versions that was a major hit included a loin cloth and a pair of eyeglasses.
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 USD$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.
In 1974 the main potato part of the toy doubled in size and the size of its accessories were 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, which made it impossible for users to put the face pieces 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. 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.
Mr. Potato Head first appeared on TV in Potato Head Kids, in which, ironically, he played a supporting character. He has appeared in both Toy Story movies (voiced by Don Rickles), had his own Fox Kids show, been the subject of a comic strip created by Jim Davis, and advertised fries for Burger King in commercials after there was a considerable change in their taste. Currently, in Britain, Walkers crisps has a line of crisps called Potato Heads, featuring a Potato head rendition of Gary Lineker on the packet.
