He’s one of the most popular toys in toy history.  The fact is, Mr. Potato Head has been around a long, long time, and like many other toys who got started way back in the late 1940’s, Potato and his family have gone through a lot of changes.  How the spud bud has changed over the years makes for a fascinating study in consumer trends.  It’s amazing to think of how Mr. Potato Head has endured beyond all rhyme or reason for over 50 years!

I heard it all the time from my father and grandmother when I was a kid, but it’s still tough to believe that Mr. Potato Head once required you to provide your own potato! (Would a Mr. Potato Head made from a cross potato be a Reverend Potato Head?)  One interesting fact was this food wasting is one of the reasons why Mr. Potato Head became the plastic spud we all know and love today, and it was also one of the reasons why Hasbro was reluctant to market the item at first.  They were afraid that parents, who remembered the food shortages of then-recent WWII, would never waste money on something that encouraged wasting taters!

Little did they know that they were sitting on a goldmine and a toy hall of famer!  My dad had one when he was growing up, I had one of the last models that came with a pipe as a kid, and no doubt my kids will have one, too.  Mr. Potato Head will never go moldy.

Tags: toys, classic children’s toys, Mr. Potato Head, history of Mr. Potato Head, toy history, evolution of toys, Hasbro

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