![]() ![]() Binney & Smith, the maker of Crayola products who has manufactured Silly Putty since 1977, added four fluorescent colors in 1990-magenta, orange, green, and yellow. The eight million units produced in 1998 is four times what was produced in 1987. The Columbus Zoo in Ohio has even used it to make casts of the hands and feet of gorillas for educational purposes. In 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts carried Silly Putty into space in a specially designed sterling silver egg to alleviate boredom and help fasten down tools in the weightless environment. It has also been used in stress-reduction and physical therapy (athletes have used it to strengthen their grip), and in other medical and scientific situations (like smoking cessation programs). It picks up dirt, lint, and pet hair, and can stabilize wobbly furniture. It was only after its success as a toy that practical uses were also found for Silly Putty. By the time Hodgson died in 1976, Silly Putty had made him a multi-millionaire. Six years later, Silly Putty was introduced to the Soviet Union, followed by Europe, where it was a hit in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Italy. However, by 1955 Silly Putty was most popular with kids ages six to 12 years old. Initially, its market as a novelty item was 80% adult. Though Hodgson introduced Silly Putty at the International Toy Fair in New York in February of 1950, it was not until several months later when an article appeared in The New Yorker magazine that sales took off. Hodgson bought the production rights from GE and renamed it Silly Putty, packaging it in plastic eggs because Easter was on the way. Several years later, an unemployed copywriter named Peter Hodgson recognized its marketing potential as a children's toy, after first seeing it advertised at a local toy store as an adult gift. War Production Board, found it more practical than the synthetic rubber already then being produced. In any event, Wright is still officially credited with the invention.īy 1945, General Electric (GE) had shared this discovery with scientists around the world, only to find that none of them, including those at the U.S. Corning Glass Works, who was also developing a substitute for rubber, applied for a patent in 1943 and received it in 1947 for treating dimethyl silicone polymer with boric oxide. There is some debate on who received the first patent. In addition, the substance would copy any newspaper or comic-book print that it touched. By combining boric acid with silicone oil, a material resulted that would stretch and bounce farther than rubber, even at extreme temperatures. In 1943, Silly Putty was accidentally invented by James Wright, an engineer in General Electric's New Haven laboratory, which was under a government contract to create an inexpensive substitute for synthetic rubber for the war effort.
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