Monday, September 28th…National Ask a Stupid Questions Day.  

Usually when someone says “Can I ask a stupid question?” the response is “There are no stupid questions”.

But let’s face it.  There really ARE stupid questions.

Here are some of my favorites:

Do I look fat in this?

Do you mind if I smoke?

What little light on my dashboard…you mean I was supposed to pay attention to that?

Do I have to pay for that now?

Is it gonna hurt?

Why can’t I have a raise?

Do you really love me?

Do you remember what day this is?

Are we there yet?

I’d love to hear what YOUR favorite stupid question is!

If you have children, or if you were ever a child yourself, you most likely played with Play-Doh.  The most famous toys in history are immortalized in the National Toy Hall Of Fame….and yes, Play-Doh is there!

Introduced in 1956, Play-Doh is the creation of  Joe  McVicker, who created a modeling clay from wallpaper paste for his sister’s preschool class. The kids were looking for a more “user-friendly” clay and it became an instant hit!

Play-Doh was first sold at Woodward and Lothop Department Stores in Washington D.C. in a 1 1/2 pound can, and only in White! In one short year it was reintroduced  in primary colors; Red, Yellow and Blue.

One of Hasbro’s jewels, the formula for Play-Doh stays a very guarded secret today after being pateneted in 1965, ten years after it hit the market.

What makes Play-Doh so special?  Everything! It is easy to keep soft…just remember to keep it sealed in it’s airtight containers.  (Even a ziplock baggie will keep it fresh)  Want to immortalize your creation?  Leave it open to the air overnight and it will harden. Unfortunately, most of us learned that lesson the hard way though, right?

But the best thing about Play-doh is that you can make ANYTHING with it. I’m from the generation that didn’t have the fancy products with the food makers and shape and animal molds. I had to make my own hamburgers…and grasshoppers…and  aliens.  Somehow they all turned out brown! Well, that’s what you get when you mix version of blue and red and yellow…duh! It didn’t matter. They were all works of art and I couldn’t have been more proud of my designs.

But whether you remember your Play-Doh creations or not, I will bet you money there is one thing you won’t ever forget…the SMELL of Play-Doh.  (You just nodded your head and had a major flashback, right?) Just in case I have tempted you to run out and buy a can just to be able to open it up and take a big whiff, here’s another option.  

 Play-Doh actually markets it’s own Perfume Spray. Seriously! Another product where I have to question “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”  It was created for the 50th birthday of the modeling clay,  is distributed through Perpetual Kid and Demeter retailers and is available in 1oz. bottles. I can only guess that you could be THE  topic of conversation if you decided to spray yourself and then head out to a cocktail party!  Although, if you are a kindergarten teacher, it might be just the trick to get the kids to love you unconditionally.

It is estimated that 900 million pounds of Play-Doh have been sold to date. I think I can personally claim a couple hundred pounds all by myself..between my exquisite artistic creations and the globs of Play-doh left behind in the rug of my childhood bedroom. I’m sure my mom wishes she had the internet all those years ago to look up How to Get Play-Doh out of carpets!

Enjoy National Play-Doh Day on September 18th. We should all celebrate the kid inside us!

NOTE: Do you have a child ten years or younger who loves Play-Doh?  Visit “Ready Go Play-Doh“ to find out how to win a $10,000 grand prize and Daily Giveaways. GOOD LUCK!!!