Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»Toys & Games
    Toys & Games 3 Mins Read

    Silly Putty

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    You don’t want to eat Silly Putty. You also don’t want to set it on fire or drop it from high elevations (it shatters). But just about anything else goes.

    Keep it on the desk or the car, then stretch and knead it to alleviate stress. Sculpt it into various and sundry objet d’art, you little Michelangelo, you.

    sillyputty_000

    Press it against a newspaper or comic or jam it under a wobbly table leg and impress your not-so-handy dinner companions.

    Remove lint from your clothes, clean your typewriter keys, bounce it, bowl it, juggle it, plug a leak with it . . . Just put it back in its plastic egg home when you’re done.

    In the early 1940s, a New Haven, Connecticut engineer named James Wright was busy trying to design an inexpensive synthetic rubber. When he dropped a little boric acid into silicone oil, he got what he wanted, sort of.

    The resulting goo was certainly stretchy and bouncy, but General Electric, whom Wright was under contract to, didn’t fall in love. But the putty was not to be denied.

    sillyputtyA few years later, an out-of-work ad man named Peter Hodgson came upon the “nutty putty” or “gupp”, as it was nicknamed back then – some say at a party, and some say at a toy store.

    Replete with a vision of the putty as a mass-produced toy, Hodgson borrowed money, bought the rights from GE, and bought a load of the stuff.

    He christened it ‘Silly Putty’ and sold one-ounce portions inside plastic eggs because Easter was coming up.

    Thanks to a piece in The New Yorker, sales were brisk, and the Putty has remained on the toy scene ever since. Hodgson died in 1976, a very rich man.

    Silly Putty is chemically classified as a non-Newtonian fluid, its viscosity dependent on temperature and force applied. In 1961, it was featured at the Plastics Expo in Moscow.

    sillyputty_536In 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 carted it into space in a specially-designed silver egg casing and used it to fasten down tools in zero-gravity.

    These days, Binney & Smith, the folks who bring crayons to colouring books and walls near you, make and distribute the Putty.

    In 1990, four fluorescent colours hit the shelves, and in 1991, Glow in the Dark putty arrived on the toy scene.

    Everybody loves a good gimmick, but the Classic Putty is still the best-selling putty of all.

    Upwards of six million eggs are hatched every year, two million in the US alone.

    Related Posts

    • Twister
      Twister
      "Left foot . . . red, right hand . . . yellow". These familiar words echoed through houses throughout the…
    • Little Professor Calculator
      Little Professor Calculator
      Calculators became portable during the 1970s following a breakthrough that enabled their development with just a few low-powered chips. In…
    • Evel Knievel toys
      Evel Knievel toys
      Ideal Toys, the major manufacturer of Evel Knievel toys, got their start in the Knievel business in 1972 when they…
    • Mouse Trap
      Mouse Trap
      First released in 1963, this colourful, kooky trap game was complex, but a set of blueprints on the game board…
    • KISS Pinball Machine
      KISS Pinball Machine
      In the late 1970s, celebrities became a popular theme for pinball machines. In fact, everyone from Ted Nugent to Evel…
    • Silly String
      Silly String
      No one knew what it was made of - in fact, people still don't know what it's made of! Certain…
    • Game & Watch
      Game & Watch
      The Game & Watch handheld electronic games were developed and manufactured by Nintendo and released from 1980 to 1991. The…
    • Magic 8 Ball
      Magic 8 Ball
      The original Magic 8 Ball was produced by the Alabe Crafts company in the late 1940s, and billed not for…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleSee ‘N’ Say
    Next Article Silly String

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Teen Angel
      1 9 9 7 – 1 9 9 8 (USA) 17 x 30 minute episodes The teen […]
    • Dio
      Formed after Ronnie James Dio’s departure from Black […]
    • Jack Ruby
      Jack Ruby was born Jacob Leon Rubenstein on 25 March 1911 in the […]
    • Pipkins (Inigo Pipkin)
      1 9 7 3 – 1 9 8 1 (UK) 313 x 30 minute episodes Inigo […]
    • Private War of Major Benson, The (1955)
      Major Bernard Benson (Charlton Heston), noted for advancing with […]
    • Saturn 3 (1980)
      Research workers Adam (Kirk Douglas) and Alex (Farrah Fawcett) […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.