Long before children used Play-Doh to make animals, castles, and imaginary foods, the soft modeling compound was sold as a wallpaper cleaner. During the 1950s, households heated by coal often struggled with soot marks on walls, and manufacturers produced specialized compounds designed to lift dirt without damaging wallpaper. According to educational materials from Florida State University and curriculum research from Yale, the product’s future changed when preschool teacher Kay Zufall recognized that the same soft material worked remarkably well as a classroom activity for young children. Her observation helped transform a struggling cleaning product into one of the most recognizable toys in the world. The story has become so widely repeated that some versions contain conflicting dates, but the best-documented accounts place the crucial transition in 1956 rather than 1949.
