Meera Atkinson

On paper it doesn’t sound like it would fly: you take a potato and stick things into it to make a face and youngsters will go wild. Yet, unlikely as it seems, Mr Potato Head is one of the most enduring children’s toys of the 20th century and still going strong more than 50 years after being launched.

Unpack the issues...

• Discussion point
• Further reading 

According to About.com, one George Lerner of New York City invented and patented Mr Potato Head in 1952. Originally devised as separate plastic parts to be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable, a plastic body was added in 1964. 

Mr Potato Head has the honour of having been the first toy to be advertised on television. In 1953, Mr Potato Head married Mrs Potato Head and soon after Brother Spud and Sister Yam were born. The Potato Head family has lived happily ever since.

Best known for his glasses and moustache, Mr Potato Head continued to be distributed globally, but his appearance in the Toy Story movies released in the 1990s boosted his popularity even further.

Hasbro Inc, the makers of Mr Potato Head, refer to him as one of the world’s most original personalities and an ambassador for many causes, citing his 1987 surrender of his pipe to the US Surgeon General, C Everett Koop, and subsequent anti-smoking activism as just one example.

This harmless toy, which has brought joy to countless innocent children, has been used in surprising ways. In October last year The Age reported 300 grams of the drug ecstasy was discovered in a small taped bag inside a smiling Mr Potato Head toy by Customs officers at the Sydney International Mail Centre.

Then there is the story from the UK about Louis, a giant 1.8 metre wide octopus who was given Mr Potato Head as a Christmas present and has become so attached to the toy, he becomes upset when aquarium staff try to remove it from his tank.

Octopuses are highly intelligent and curious and Mr Potato Head was given to Louis as part of an enrichment program. Treats such as crab are hidden in a secret spot at the back of the toy. Louis has learned how to retrieve the treats, providing hours of gratifying entertainment.

Mr Potato Head’s universal appeal is also at play on a YouTube video showing a team of skydivers taking turns assembling a Mr Potato Head mid-air.

One thing is certain, whatever people do with Mr Potato Head, he remains a timeless cultural icon and a nostalgic memory for big kids the world over.

Unpack the issues...

Discussion point

• If you had to choose your facial expression before you left the house each day, what would be most useful? 

Further reading

• The world's largest resource for Mr Potato Head

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