Before Play-Doh was for kids, homemakers used it to clean soot-stained walls

When one of the largest manufactures of wallpaper cleaner, Kutol Products, started losing steam in the 1950s, the small Cincinnati-based company decided to make a major pivot.

If the dough-like cleaner wouldn’t be used to clean walls, what if it were used for play? And with that, the modeling clay Play-Doh was born — thanks in no small part to a suggestion from a schoolteacher named Kay Zufall.

Today, Play-Doh is a ubiquitous childrens’ toy.

In our holiday mini-series on the history of toys, Tim Walsh, author of “Timeless Toys” and toy designer with The Playmakers, talks about the origins of Play-Doh.

To hear the rest of the story of Play-Doh, click the audio player above.