Very chilly and wet here too, Cynthia --- not a fun gardening day.

I wasn't born in 1952, but I was watching TV then, or soon after. I can't remember exactly when we got our first TV, but I remember that it was a 21 inch set with a mahogany cabinet. I think it was pretty expensive. Little did I know at the time that it would be the last TV we would own for many years, even though it only lasted for three or four years. We all did a lot of reading after that.

The toy that first popped into my mind was invented by the son of a very well-known man, who shares a middle name with his dad. Am I warm?

TM

Hmmm...not sure TM. The inventor shares his last name with with someone famous if you follow musicals, but I am not sure that will help. I haven't seen any middle name for him, so you could be right. He was born in 1922. Of course, my brain is pretty much mush these days-getting to the end of the school year and starting three weeks of our state testing next week. *sigh*

Cynthia, who may run to the nursery since it isn't pouring rain at the moment

ps. Don't you just love how green everything looks on rainy days? No clue there, just enjoying looking out the window as I type!

Hey Cottagers - what's up?? I am up, for at least 20 seconds more!! lol.

I was game for 1967 - a great thing happened up here then - we became "Canada". Very cool. Now, watch me, cause when I say last week, I mean two weeks ago!! lol. I did hear something about this invention - was it saved by a Toy Story movie?

Thanks for all of your good wishes guys. I have the radio on - CBC 1 - Quirks and Quarks is on - you guys would love it. Lots of science trivia. I restarted my newspaper service this am, so I am going to try to read some of it!! lol, or snooze and drool on it!

Cheers, Nancy.

I don't remember what year we got TV. My grandfather bought the first one in the county and my dad bought the second one. Can't remember being without one. I wonder if the first advertisement might be a copy of a children's show character. He had many moveable parts.

Nancy, glad to see that you are joining in. I remember well those snoozy days. Oh yeah, DH says wasn't it yesterday and ha, ha, it was as I spent the day relaxing and napping.

Well obviously, I should go see more kids' movies. Can't answer your question Nancy. I also don't remember this toy being a show character, Bobbie.

Nancy, isn't is nice to have replaceable parts?!

As a child, I sure was enthralled by tv. We had one of those huge ones, too, TM. My dad found me once sitting on the floor watching the signal that was broadcast when the stations shut down for the night. Apparently, I was waiting for Mighty Mouse to come on. Glad to say I am not a couch potato these days. Today, I bought two trees! A Nyssa sylvatica 'Green Gables' and a Zumi crabapple. They will be delivered next Saturday. I think I should buy a truck so I could bring them home myself.

You became Canada in 1967? Was that when you threw off the yoke of the monarchy? No more fish and chips, but rather fish and fries? Woohoo.

Cynthia

I was thinking of Lincoln Logs, Cynthia, but now I'll think in a different direction. Maybe something in the Solanum area.

TM

Why, TM, I do believe you have it. A pat on the head for you.

I wondered if there were too many clues in my last post. We'll see if the others come along.

We have friends coming for dinner, so I may not get back right away. We are fixing spare ribs and sides: coleslaw, potato salad...

Cynthia

Ohh, see, there, brain not working - lol. I pickup 1867...oh goodness, time for my Celebrex.

Well, poutine might be nice for dinner, if I am on the right, or more likely, correct, track!!

Bobbie, I actually had a split second today, waking up from one of my naps, where everything was OK - then I tried to move. :(

Better Days ahead. Nancy.

I'm thinking along the same lines as TM. A versatile veggie comes to mind although the one in question these days isn't edible.

Annette

Silly and many parts had me thinking of one other toy that TM and Annette also seem to have in mind. I didn't know that this toy was that old, though. Seems to me that he had a short lived tv show, maybe in the late 80s or 90s. I remember the pieces were first sold without the main part which was to be assumed to be in everyone's home. Cynthia, I missed all your clues unless they were working subliminally. Now they are so obvious.

While I was out shopping I thought that I would be silly even suggesting Mr. Potato Head. Later reading all the clues and hints from Cynthia and others it seems not so silly after all.

Four stars for TM, Annette, Bobbie, and Nancy!

Yes, Mr. potato head was the first toy advertised on televison and it was in 1952. Here is the article from Wikipedia: In the early 1950s, Brooklyn-born toy inventor George Lerner came up with the idea of inserting small, pronged body and face parts into fruits and vegetables to create a "funny face man". Lerner would often take potatoes from his mother's garden and, using various other fruits and vegetables as facial features, he would make dolls with which his younger sisters could play. The grape-eyed, carrot-nosed, potato-headed dolls became the principal idea behind the plastic toy which would later be manufactured.
In the beginning, Lerner's toy proved controversial. With the war and food rationing a recent memory for most Americans, the use of fruits and vegetables to make toys was considered irresponsible and wasteful. Toy companies rejected Lerner's creation. After several years of trying to sell the toy, Lerner finally convinced a food company to distribute the plastic parts as premiums in breakfast cereal boxes. He sold the idea for $5,000. But in 1951, Lerner showed the idea to Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld, who conducted a small school supply and toy business called Hassenfeld Brothers (later changed to Hasbro). Realizing the toy was quite unlike anything in their line; they paid the cereal company $2,000 to stop production and bought the rights for $5,000. Lerner was offered an advance of $500 and a 5% royalty on every kit sold. The toy was dubbed Mr. Potato Head and went into production.
Mr. Potato Head was "born" on May 1, 1952. The original toy cost $0.98, and contained hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pairs of eyes, four noses, three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and eight felt pieces resembling facial hair. The original Mr. Potato Head kit did not come with a potato "body", so parents had to provide their own potato into which children could stick the various pieces. Shortly after the toy's initial release, an order form for 50 additional pieces was enclosed in every kit.
On April 30, 1952, Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on television. The campaign was also the first to be aimed directly at children; before this, commercials were only targeted at adults, so toy adverts had always been pitched to parents.This commercial revolutionized marketing, and caused an industrial boom. Over one million kits were sold in the first year. In 1953, Mrs. Potato Head was added, and soon after, Brother Spud and Sister Yam completed the Potato Head family with accessories reflecting the affluence of the fifties that included a car, a boat trailer,[9] a kitchen set, a stroller, and pets called Spud-ettes. Although originally produced as separate plastic parts to be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable, a plastic potato was added to the kit in 1964.
In the 1960s, government regulations forced the Potato Head parts to be less sharp, leaving them unable to puncture vegetables easily. By 1964, the company was therefore forced to include a plastic potato "body" in its kit. Little children were also choking on the small pieces and cutting themselves with the sharp pieces. About this time, Hasbro introduced Oscar the Orange and Pete the Pepper, a plastic orange and green pepper with attachable face parts similar to Mr. Potato Head's. Each came with Mr. Potato Head in a separate kit. Female characters Katie Carrot and Cookie Cucumber also made an appearance. Hasbro also made a fast food based line called Mr. Potato Head's Picnic Pals. Some characters were Mr. Soda Pop Head and Franky Franky Frank. The friends and pals were later discontinued, but Funko revived Oscar and Pete as bobbleheads (along with a Mr. Potato Head bobblehead) in 2002.
In 1975, the main potato part of the toy doubled in size and the dimensions of its accessories were similarly increased. This was done mainly because of new toy child safety regulations that were introduced by the U.S. government. This change in size also increased the market to younger children, enabling them to play and attach the facial pieces easily. Hasbro also replaced the holes with flat slats, which made it impossible for users to put the face pieces and other body parts the wrong way around. In the 1980s, Hasbro reduced the range of accessories for Mr. Potato Head to one set of parts. The company did, however, reintroduce round holes in the main potato body, and once again parts were able to go onto the toy in the wrong locations.
In 1985, Mr. Potato Head received four postal votes in the run for mayor of Boise, Idaho in the "most votes for Mr. Potato Head in a political campaign" as verified by Guinness World Records
In 1987, Mr. Potato Head became "Spokespud" for the annual Great American Smokeout and surrendered his pipe to Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in Washington, D.C.
In 1995, Mr. Potato Head made his debut in Hollywood with a leading role in the Disney/Pixar animated feature Toy Story.
In 2000, Mr. Potato Head was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, NY.
In 2006, Hasbro also began selling sets of pieces without bodies for customers to add to their collections. Some of these themed sets included Mermaid, Rockstar, Pirate, King, Princess, Firefighter, Construction Worker, Halloween, Santa Claus, Chef, and Police Officer. In the same year, Hasbro introduced a line called "Sports Spuds" with a generic plastic potato (smaller than the standard size) customized to a wide variety of professional and collegiate teams.
In 2011, Mr. Potato Head got his first new look in nearly 30 years.

I don't remember Sister Yam and Brother Spud, but I did have fun aking silly faces on Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head! Somehow, it is comforting to know that kids today are equally amused by the potato heads. It just makes me giggle to think about how much fun Miguel was having mixing up the few feature pieces he could find to create goofy faces which he then brought with much excitement to show me!

Have a lovely Sunday all.

Cynthia

I don't think we ever had any Potato Head toys. I can imagine your student and his enthusiastically sharing his creations with you. Thanks for the fun and interesting question.

I apologize for getting back to you so late with this, Cynthia, but thank you for the great question. I found some Mr Potato Head online games too, but they didn't seem like much fun. Too quick and easy, and you don't get that raw potato smell.

I appreciate your coming up with a new and cool trivia for us every Saturday. You're good!

TM

Thanks, TM.

Mine are never as good as yours always were. Feel free to take your spot back any time...or just jump in from time to time if you feel inspired!

Cynthia