When I was a little kid, the colorful compound was the forbidden fruit. My mother declared our home a play-doh free zone.  Our kitchen and play space was carpeted. I don’t even know how to describe the very 1970’s floor covering we had, but even at a young age I could understand that if Play-Doh became ground in, there was no going back. Still, I remember playing with it at friends houses and how cool it was to squish it. The best was the pasta set and the cool garlic-press looking tool that allowed you to squish it into noodles. My type-A, symmetry loving self adored that. Who doesn’t love Play-Doh?

Here are so fun facts about Play-Doh in honor of the occasion today.

* Since it was first created in 1956, more than 950 million pounds,  more than 2 billion cans, of Play-Doh have been molded, pounded, sculpted and squished by consumers. That is a crazy amount of Play-Doh.

* If all that Play-Doh ever created was put through the Fun Factory Play-Doh accessory, it would create a strand of Play-Doh long enough to circle the Earth’s equator 300 times.

* Playtime was not why Play-Doh was created. Rather, it was first meant to be wallpaper cleaner that was meant to be rolled along the wall and it came in only off white.

* Play-Doh owes much of its initial popularity to Captain Kangaroo. Captain Kangaroo, also known as Bob Keeshan,  cut a deal with the inventor of Play-Doh, Joe McVicker. The Captain agreed to feature Play-Doh on his show once a week in exchange for two percent of the sales because McVicker could not afford to buy commercial time.

* Play-Doh is still a ridiculously popular product, with more than 100 million cans produced each year.

* Red is the most popular color of Play-Doh, according to a survey. Red was one of three colors available, in addition to yellow and blue, when it was first for sale as a toy.

* National Play-Doh Day has been celebrated on September 16 since 2006.

* The exact ingredients of Play-Doh are secret. On its website, Hasbro says, “The exact ingredients of PLAY-DOH compound are proprietary, so we cannot share them with you. We can tell you that it is primarily a mixture of water, salt and flour.” They also note that it contains wheat, but not other allergens like peanuts, peanut oil, or milk byproducts. It is not a food item and is not meant to be eaten.

* Like all good things, Play-Doh doesn’t last forever. Hasbro cautions, “If allowed to harden (to preserve a creation) it will most likely crack.” Sigh. They suggest using another product if you’re looking to produce a creation that lasts. But really, isn’t part of the fun squishing your creation and starting all over again?

In honor of National Play-Doh Day, Hasbro, the compound’s manufacturer, created Play-Doh sculptures of famous movies, from Monsters University to Mean Girls to Grease. You can see them all here. While I love this Monsters University sculpture

the nod to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is my favorite.

Go get your squish on and play with some Play Doh today, or create your own.  Here are some recipes for homemade play-doh.

If you’ve been buying Play-Doh and have some empty containers, check out some idea of how to recycle or upcycle them into cute crafts here.

Sources: “National Play-Doh Day fun facts,” Newsday; “National PLAY-DOH Day,” Business Wire; “10 Fun Facts for National Play-Doh Day” from Mental Floss; “Geek Trivia: All work and no Play-Doh,” Tech Republic; Hasbro website.

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