Mr. Potato Head

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Mr. Potato Head

Mr. Potato Head has changed a lot since he was first created. But, kids still love him and he is a lot of fun. Mr. Potato Head was invented by George Lerner of Brooklyn in 1949. When George Lerner was younger he would make toys with funny faces for his little sister using fruits and vegetables. George's parents had a garden and he would use the food from the garden to make his creations. George's original idea was to make a bunch of plastic pieces like a mouth, a nose, ears and eyes that could be attached to fruits and vegetables. The idea was to make a toy that would bring inanimate food objects to life. George first sold his idea to a cereal company for $5,000. He had trouble trying to sell it to other companies because of the recent rationing of food during the war and no one wanted to support wasting food. The pieces would have been packaged as a prize in the cereal box that could be attached to a potato.
George quickly got a better offer from the creators of Hasbro. So Hasbro and George bought the rights to the toy back for $7,000 in 1951. George's new deal would give him$500 up front and 50 cents from each kit sold. In 1952 Hasbro began manufacturing and selling Mr. Potato Head all across America. Originally Mr. Potato Head was just a bunch of parts and the you would need to provide your own potato. But, today a plastic potato body with holes is used.

More Mr. Potato Head Sets
So what is your favorite Mr. Potato Head Costume?
More recent Mr. Potato Head Commercial

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Mr. Potato Head in a Silly Suitcase

Today there are more Mr. Potato Head sets than George Lerner could have ever imagined. The Silly Suitcase series is cool. My boys love them and we have a few. It comes with so many parts that they don't all fit inside Mr. Potato Head so he gets a suitcase to hold them.

Mrs. Potato Head Silly Suitcase

Amazon Price: $16.97 (as of 11/28/2009)

Mr. Potato Head Silly Suitcase

Amazon Price: $32.06 (as of 11/28/2009)

The Original Mr. Potato Head

April 30th 1952

Mr. Potato head wasn't always plastic. He used to just be a bucket of parts. Kids had to provide their own potatoes. Mr. Potato Head was actually the first toy ever advertised on television. I guess he started the mess of kids asking for every single toy they see on tv.

Vintage Original Mr and Mrs Potato Head commercial 1960's

This is when Mr Potato Head was a real potato. Find more classic toy commercials at http://www.vintagetvcommercials.com

Runtime: 67
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20 Comments:

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Mr. Potato Head

Get the Most for your money

This set seems to be the cheapest with the most parts. It has two large potato bodies and 1 small one. Along with almost 50 parts. The only drawback I see is that it doesn't come with a cool hard plastic case like the buckets or silly suitcases.

Mr. Potato Head Jumbo Pack

Amazon Price: $34.99 (as of 11/28/2009)

More Mr. Potato Head Sets

Playskool Mr. Potato Head Celebration Spud

Amazon Price: (as of 11/28/2009)

Playskool Mr. Potato Head Spud Buds

Amazon Price: $31.99 (as of 11/28/2009)

Playskool Mr. Potato Head Themed Value Pack

Disney Star Wars Mr. Potato Head Princess Tater, Leia (Disney Exclusive)

Relive the high frying battles between the Galacti more...0 points

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More recent Mr. Potato Head Commercial

A lot has changed but, he is still a lot of fun for kids.

Don't you just love Mr. Potato Head?

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AppalachianCountry AppalachianCountry Oct 1, 2009 @ 12:23 pm

Great lens. We had forgoten the early one you had to use your own potato.
5 stars*****

Reply

Jim10 Jim10 May 26, 2009 @ 1:08 pm | in reply to Superwife

thanks for visiting. I'm glad you like Mr. Potato Head as much as my kids and I do.

Reply

Superwife Superwife May 13, 2009 @ 1:32 pm

this is a totally cute lens, we love mr. potato head here :)

Reply

Jim10 Jim10 Apr 28, 2009 @ 11:52 am

At the time everyone was trying not to waste food. But, Mr. Potato Head was so much fun that he beat the odds.
and thanks for the Lensroll. [in reply to poutine]

Reply

poutine poutine Apr 28, 2009 @ 6:27 am

Mr. Potato Head has been added to your lensroll on the following lenses:

Now It's Fashionable To Eat Potatoes
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More about Mr. Potato Head

The first Mr. Potato Head kit cost 98 cents and was a huge hit. The original only contained parts and children were expected to use their own potato. Mr. Potato Head came with 2 mouths, 2 pairs of eyes, hands, feet, 4 noses, ears, 3 hats,a pipe, glasses and 8 pieces of felt to use for hair. Later it also included an order form for additional parts. Over 1 million Mr. Potato Head kits were sold in the first year.
Mr. Potato Head was so popular that In 1953 Mrs. Potato Head, Brother Spud and Sister Yam were also created as kits. Hasbro even added a kitchen set, a car, a stroller and a boat trailer. In 1964 a plastic potato with holes for the parts was added to the kit. But, it was smaller than the one used today.
In 1975 Mr. Potato Head was redesigned for the new safety standards in the US. The plastic potato became bigger and so did his parts. In turn this also made younger kids able to play with the toy. Todays Mr. Potato Head is recommended for ages 2 and up.

Mr. Potato Head is even great for the holidays

Mr. Potato Head Spud Bunny - Boy

Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 11/28/2009)

Mr. Potato Head Spud Bunny - Girl

Amazon Price: $9.24 (as of 11/28/2009)

Mr. Potato Head Valentine's Day Sweetheart Spud - Playskool

Amazon Price: $14.69 (as of 11/28/2009)

Mr. Potato Head Trick or Tater

Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 11/28/2009)

Mr. Potato Head: Santa Spud Claus

Amazon Price: $14.50 (as of 11/28/2009)

Mr. Potato Head Timeline

1949: George Lerner began creating a set of pieces for his toy.
1951: George sold his idea to a cereal company for the parts to be prizes.
1951: Later in 1951 the creators of Hasbro were interested in George's toy and with George they bought the rights back from the cereal company.
1952: Hasbro began manufacturing Mr. Potato Head kits.
April 30th 1952: Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on TV.
1954: A plastic potato was added to the Mr. Potato Head kit.
1975: Mr Potato Head and his parts doubled in size.
1986: Mr. Potato Head gave up his pipe for the Great American Smokeout.
1995: Mr. Potato was 3d animated for the Disney film Toy Story.
2000: Mr. Potato Head is inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
2001: Featured in his own comic strip.

Here's my favorite link:

Any Other Mr. Potato Head I might have missed

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Mr. Potato Head

Mr. Potato Head

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Mr. Potato Head in a Silly Suitcase

The Original Mr. Potato Head

April 30th 1952

Vintage Original Mr and Mrs Potato Head commercial 1960's

Mr. Potato Head

Get the Most for your money

More Mr. Potato Head Sets

So what is your favorite Mr. Potato Head Costume?

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More recent Mr. Potato Head Commercial

Don't you just love Mr. Potato Head?

More about Mr. Potato Head

Mr. Potato Head is even great for the holidays

Mr. Potato Head Timeline

Here's my favorite link:

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