Silly Putty was invented by accident in 1943 when a chemist at General Electric combined boric acid and silicone oil. It became a hit toy after Peter Hodgson bought the rights and marketed it as “Silly Putty”. It later found practical uses in medical and scientific applications.
Silly Putty, one of the classic toys of modern times, was actually invented by accident. As a military tactic during the early years of World War II, the Japanese invaded rubber-producing countries to stop production of tires, rafts, gas masks, boots, vehicles, and aircraft parts for the military. The US government encouraged American companies to invent a synthetic substance that had rubber-like properties but could be made from unrestricted materials.
In 1943, James Wright, a chemist at General Electric (GE) combined boric acid and silicone oil in a test tube and created an intriguing slime droplet. This elastic material didn’t decompose and bounced even higher than rubber. It could also flow in slow motion, but it would break into small pieces when you hit it sharply. The goo also copied any print it touched. General Electric shared the putty with other chemists around the world only to find that no one could think of any practical use for the putty.
While it wasn’t very practical, the substance was fun. The “nutty stucco”, as it was commonly called, was passed from person to person to be dropped, stretched and shaped. Putty would have been doomed to remain a local curiosity had it not fallen into the hands of Ruth Fallgatter, the owner of the Block Shop Toy Store.
In 1949, Ruth Fallgatter asked Peter Hodgson, an out-of-work marketing consultant, to produce her new toy catalog. They decided to put the fun putty in a clear case and sell it for $2 US Dollars (USD) each. The putty was a top seller, but despite the small fortune she’s made for her, Fallgatter has opted not to include the item in her next catalog.
But Peter Hodgson saw the potential of stucco as a novelty. He borrowed some money, bought the rights from GE, and hired college students to separate the grout into little blobs and put them inside plastic eggs. Since “bouncy putty” didn’t fully describe goofy goo’s unusual and fun qualities, Hodgson decided to call it “Silly Putty.”
In 1950, Hodgson showcased his product at the International Toy Fair in New York, where he had Silly Putty stocked at Nieman-Marcus and Doubleday bookstores. Luckily for Hodgson, a New Yorker reporter happened upon Silly Putty that summer. Fascinated by the novelty, the writer raved about the product in the ‘Talk of the Town’ and over 250,000 orders for Silly Putty were placed in the following three days.
Although Silly Putty was originally an adult novelty, the market had changed by 1955 and the toy became a hit with children. Not only could kids bounce, stretch and shape Silly Putty, but they could also copy images from comics and then twist, bend and stretch them. In 1957, kids watched Silly Putty TV commercials on The Howdy Doody Show and Captain Kangaroo.
It was only after its success as a toy that practical uses for Silly Putty were finally found. The material’s unique properties have found niche use in medical and scientific applications. Physiotherapists like putty for hand injury rehabilitation therapy and ADD and ADHD patients handle Silly Putty to reduce stress and relieve tension. Silly Putty can also be used around the home to plug holes, clean keyboard keys and pick up dirt, lint and pet hair. Astronauts even used it aboard Apollo 8 on their mission to the moon to protect instruments in zero gravity.
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