This spud's for you!

Today I'm celebrating Mr Potato Head Day!

George Lerner invented and patented Mr Potato Head in 1952. It included plastic face pieces that could be pushed into fruits or vegetables. It was originally sold to a cereal company who planned to use the pieces as a premium giveaway in cereal boxes. He eventually bought back the rights and worked with the Hassenfeld Brothers (now Hasbro, Inc) to manufacture Mr Potato Head. Mr Potato Head was originally introduced on April 30, 1952 as the Mr Potato Head Funny Face Kit. The original Mr Potato Head contained only the parts (such as eyes, ears, noses, mouths) and parents had to supply the real potatoes. It sold for under one dollar. Later a hard plastic potato "body" was included. In 1953, Mrs Potato Head was introduced -- you could say that they had eyes for each other! Soon afterwards, Brother Spud and Sister Yam completed the family. Numerous playsets were released by Hasbro. Mr Potato Head was expanded into additional toy categories. His image has been licensed for apparel, accessories, and novelty items. Today, Hasbro, Inc still manufactures Mr Potato Head.

Fun facts about Mr Potato Head:

• The first toy to be advertised on TV
• In 1985, he received 4 write-in votes in the mayoral election in Boise, Idaho
• He surrendered his signature pipe to the US Surgeon General, C Everett Koop in 1987 and became the spokespud for the American Cancer Society's annual "Great American Smokeout" campaign (a role he carried out for several years)
• On his 40th birthday, it was decided Mr Potato Head would no longer be a couch potato and he received a special award from the President's Council for Physical Fitness (right on the White House lawn)
• He and Mrs Potato Head joined the League of Women's Voters in 1996 to help out with their "Get Out the Vote" campaign
• His first role on TV was in Potato Head Kids
• He had his own short-lived Fox Kids series in 1998-99
• He has been the subject of a comic strip created by Jim Davis
• He appeared in both Toy Story movies
• He advertised french fries for Burger King
• Versions have been released for popular movies, including Darth Tater, Spud Trooper, Artoo-Potatoo, and Spider Spud. An Indiana Jones-style Mr Potato Head was recently released, complete with a fedora and a golden idol from "Taters of the Lost Ark"
• Mr Potato Head has appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades

There are many videos on YouTube on Mr Potato Head. You can see an early commercial for Mr Potato Head. You can also see Mr Potato Head in a Toy Story scene. However, one of the my favorite videos is "Skydiving with Mr Potato Head" that you can see here:

As posted on YouTube by cujokila

Today, I fondly recall the Mr Potato Head I had as a child. Mr Potato Head has been a great source of entertainment for families for many years.

Image credit: Hasbro, Inc.

References and links: Mr Potato Head History , The Mr Potato Head Collector's Page , Mr Potato Head News! blog , and Mr Potato Head wikipedia article