The invention of Play Doh was a very fortunate accident. In the 1930s Noah McVicker wanted to make wallpaper cleaner and his invention was a putty made out of water, flour, salt, boric acid, and mineral oil. He marketed this product through his family's soup company and it was a success. The wallpaper cleaner worked great and was especially popular because it was non-toxic and could be reused many times.
Later in 1956, Noah's nephew discovered that teachers in school were using the putty in school for arts and crafts. This was the perfect modeling compound for kids because of its non-toxic ingredients, and easy malleability. The McVickers created the Rainbow Craft Company and immediately started selling the product. This was an instant success, and the company soon grew to be one of the most well known arts and crafts companies and millions of kids everywhere knew the fun to play with, not to eat toy.
Play Doh is a non-toxic, non-flammable, and very safe toy for children to use. The biggest concern with Play Doh is children eating it, but even then, it is still somewhat safe if digested, unless they have an allergic reaction to its materials. In general, products that are used for other uses besides the one intended can be both a good thing or a bad thing, but the problem with that is that it may not be as functional as intended, nor safe. Play Doh, for example, was one of the instances where the usage of something not initially intended was a better creation than the original product.
https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/who-invented-play-dough
