Play-Doh modeling compound started out as wallpaper cleaner. Joe McVicker learned from a teacher that kids usually found modeling clay too hard to manipulate. Discovering that the squishy cleaning product he manufactured could substitute, McVicker shipped some to the school.

Play-Doh was invented in Cincinnati in the 1950s, but hasn't been made in the U.S. since 2004. The company, which outsources all manufacturing, now makes the toy in factories in China and Turkey.

NONFAT MILK, CREAM, BUTTERMILK, SUGAR, COLORED COOKIE DOUGH [UNENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, PALM OIL, BROWN SUGAR, WATER, POWDERED SUGAR (SUGAR, CORN STARCH), SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), SALT, BAKING SODA, BLUE 1 LAKE (COLOR), RED 3 (COLOR), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR], CORN SYRUP, WHEY, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL ...

What is play-doh material made of? While the Play-Doh team are secretive about the exact ingredients of Play-Doh material, they do say that the primary ingredients are flour, water and salt. The ingredients of Play-Doh material does not contain peanuts, peanut oil, nuts or any milk products.

10 Fun Facts about PLAY-DOH!

• PLAY-DOH inventor Joe McVicker actually sold it originally as a wallpaper cleaner.
• Over 3 billion PLAY-DOH cans have been sold since 1956.
• 4 colors started it all: red, blue, yellow, and white.
• There are 3 main ingredients in PLAY-DOH compound: water, flour, and salt.

6 Benefits of Playing with Playdough

1. Develops Fine Motor Skills. Developing finger muscles and having proper finger control is an important first step to learning how to write at school.
2. Emotional regulation.
3. Encourages creativity.
4. Hand-eye coordination.
5. Improves social skills.
6. Literacy and numeracy skills.

Part of the enduring appeal of Play-Doh is that it is a form of free play that can rarely be found in the toy aisle these days. Place containers of Play-Doh in front of any child or adult, and they can feel free to express themselves in any form without any restrictions.

According to Fortune magazine, Play-Doh has sold more than 3 billion cans since its debut as a child's toy in 1956 - eclipsing its previous existence as a wallpaper cleaner by light years. That's more than 700 million pounds of the salty stuff.

Recipe for Ice Cream Play Dough: Mix (dollar store) hair conditioner with corn starch until it reaches an ice cream like consistency! It's really that simple! Mix in the food coloring and "serve" as you play!

Play dough provides a sensory experience that helps to develop fine motor skills, ease tension and improve imagination, aiding early childhood development in a playful way. Playing with play dough is a very kinaesthetic activity that is good for the muscles, joints and bones in your child's arms and hands.

Playdough is a wonderful sensory and learning experience for children. As your child shapes the playdough into a ball or a snake, they're thinking creatively. The squeezing, pinching and pulling movements also strengthen your child's hand muscles and develop their fine motor skills.

A simple mixture of water, salt, and flour serves as the base for making a pliable modeling material that has been popular with children since the mid-1950s when a similar mixture was marketed under the brand name “Play-Doh.” It was originally created as a wallpaper cleaner!

Playdough builds strength in your child's hands. Rolling, squishing, moulding, breaking, flattening and the rest helps to develop muscles that are used for fine motor movements. These muscles are very important for future skills such as holding a pencil and using scissors.

There are many benefits of children playing with playdough including developing fine motor skills, creativity, vocabulary, literacy and numeracy and much more. Playdough also: Motivates children to explore its sensory qualities. Strengthens small fingers, hands and wrists.

Learning that play dough help with: Fine motor skills: Pinching, poking, twisting, squeezing, moulding, squishing. Sensory: Smell, taste, touch and sometimes sound (particularly squelching playdough!) Imagination: There is no limit.

Through these manipulations, children develop eye-hand coordination, the ability to match hand movement with eye movement. They also gain strength and improve dexterity in their hands and fingers, critical areas of physical development for writing, drawing, and other purposes.