Who hasn’t played with a Mr. Potato Head? As one of the most popular toys in modern American history, he is not only the source of great fun, but also great trivia.
Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on television on April 23, 1952, the day before he was released to the public. Over one million kits were sold in the first year. When he was first released by Hasboro, it was merely a potato decorating kit. It included hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pairs of eyes, four noses, three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and 8 felt pieces to decorate a real potato. The facial features were human-looking and not brightly colored at first.
Of course, like any long-living toy, Mr. Potato Head has experienced a number of major updates over the decades. The plastic “potato” body and part container was added in 1964, well after Mrs. Potato Head, Brother Spud and Sister Yam were added to the product line. Mr. Potato Head came with a pipe accessory until 1987 when he became a spokes-spud for the American Cancer Society’s annual “Great American Smokeout” campaign in 1987.
His extreme popularity as a iconic toy led to his own comic strip by Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield and later, he had a animated television series on Fox and a role in the Toy Story franchise. Now there are Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Spiderman and Transformers themed versions on the market. A KISS-themed edition is due out later this year.
