We've had a lot of customers in lately who aren't regulars to the shop, but who just love walking around and remembering the toys they had growing up. Which gave us the idea to start posting some mini biographies of some of your favorite toys.
First up...
Yes, that really is a Mr. Potato Head set, but not the way we see them today! Mr. Potato Head was the brainchild of George Lerner, who created essentially a bunch of pushpins with facial features/body parts that he envisioned being stuck into an actual potato to create 'Mr. Potato Head'. Mr. Potato Head's head was an actual potato, that the lucky recipient of this kit had to provide (potatoes were not included in the kit... if you're wondering why, have you ever smelled a rotting potato? It is disgusting.). After shopping his creation around, he found two brothers, Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld, who loved his concept and agreed to produce it. Their company went on to be known as Hasbro, the very same company that produces Mr. Potato Head and his good lady wife today. This was in 1951. A little over a decade later would come the plastic potato head/body that we can recognize today. There have been a few revisions throughout the years, most recently last year when Hasbro put Mr. Potato Head on a diet and brought out a slimmer version of the potato we all know, but the general idea of the toy is still the same as it was over 50 years ago. It's one of those toys that nearly every child in America has held in their hands at some point, and will go on to delight for years to come! If you want to read more about Mr. Potato Head, I highly recommending checking out http://www.mrpotatohead.net/, which is probably the most comprehensive guide to Mr. Potato Head on the internet. Have fun, and if you would like a Mr. Potato Head of your very own, stop on by Landis' Labyrinth and check out our selection of Mr. Potato Heads.
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