Opening the Toy Chest: 75 years and counting of squishy Silly Putty fun
In the early 1940s when wartime Japan threatened the supply of natural rubber, a chemist at General Electric Company’s laboratory in Connecticut was tasked with finding a new synthetic rubber compound. Extensive experiments did not improve on the products already available, however, a lab accident proved interesting. Spilling boric acid into silicone oil, James Wright observed that a soft, mouldable, bouncy material was formed. Silly Putty later took the world by storm, but not by the creator.
Around the same time, another scientist was researching a similar rubber substitute for Dow Corning at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Specializing in silicone polymers, Earl Warrick and colleagues “were experimenting with ways to make polydimethylsiloxane fluids more viscous,” wrote Heidi Opdyke in “Claim to fame is not a stretch,” ChemE, CMU Department of Chemistry blog, March 16, 2023. The researchers created a polymer much like Wright’s, “that bounced, could be stretched farther than natural rubber and had a high melting point.”
Turning xx into a bouncy, squishy toy, xxx xx scientists came up with Silly Putty. The goo is still a popular toy for all ages. Image from collection of Fort Bend Museum.
Both skilled inventors submitted patent applications. Wright applied on December 23, 1944. Six years later, US569647A was issued on February 13, 1951, assigned to GE. (Now under Patent No. US2541851A.) Considering himself the true inventor of the polymer putty, Warrick also received a patent on December 2, 1947 US2,431,878. “For Warrick’s efforts on the patent, Dow paid him $1,” said Opdyke. Wright’s work later became a popular toy, while Warrick “and colleague Rob Roy McGregor invented the first commercially viable silicone rubber, which is now used in underwater masks, automotive tubing and more.”
Wright’s pink goo “is a dilatant compound, which means it has a inverse thixotropy—that is, as a viscous suspension or gel, it becomes solid under the influence of pressure,” said Ann Thayer in “What’s That Stuff: Silly Putty,” in Chemical and Engineering News, November 27, 2000
Dubbed “Nutty Putty” by Wright, a batch was sold to a local toy store as a novelty product. in 1949Although selling well, the putty was taken off the shelf after only one year, but this was not the end. Born in Montreal, Quebec on August 15, 1912 marketing and advertising executive Peter Hodgson was composing a toy catalogue at a store when he saw the product. He watched as people “fooled with it,” and “I couldn’t help noticing how people with busy schedules wasted as much as 15 minutes at a shot just fondling, and stretching it,” said Robert. D. McFadden in Hodgson’s obituary in New York Times, August 7, 1976. The marketer’s toy radar lit up.
The material “molded like a soft clay. It stretched like taffy. It bounced like a rubber ball,” McFadden described, and “it would even pick up pictures and printed matter when pressed on a newspaper or comic strip.” Hodgson latched onto the opportunity. His career would be rescued by gooey stuff. The businessman was in debt to the tune of $12,000, but managed to borrow the $147 required to order a batch from General Electric.
Changing the name to Silly Putty, Hodgson applied for trademarks in March 1950. Silly Putty was registered as “modelling clay and amusement device by children” on July 1, 1952, with “color not claimed as a feature of the mark,” stated “Silly Putty—Trademark Details,” JUSTIA Trademarks.
Packaging one-ounce chunks into small plastic eggs (since it was near Easter), Hodgson priced the pink putty at about $1 each. He established a factory in North Brantford, Connecticut to produce and distribute the product, intended for adults. Introduced at the International Toy Fair in early 1950, few retailers were interested, and sales were slow. However, another lucky break came along for Hodgson.
The New Yorker magazine published an article about the creative new toy in August 1950. Within three days, “Hodgson received more than 250,000 orders,” Thayer said. Switching to the children’s market by 1955, he lowered the size to a half-ounce. (13 grams) Silly Putty sales bounced sky-high.
Establishing sales and distribution locations in Canada, Europe, and Russia, Hodgson’s vision for the pink putty came to life. Print advertisements promoted Silly Putty, and the advertiser also ran television ads, including commercials on the kids’ show, Howdy Doody.
Mind-stretching ideas emerged for Silly Putty use, unrelated to the toy market. “In 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts carried Silly Putty into space in a specially designed sterling silver egg to alleviate boredom and help fasten down tools in the weightless environment,” according to Encyclopedia.com. As well, Ohio’s Columbus Zoo “has even used it to make casts of the hands and feet of gorillas for educations purposes.”
In 1977, Binney & Smith Company purchased the Silly Putty operations. The firm “added four fluorescent colour in 1990—magenta, orange, green, and yellow,” said Encyclopedia.com. In 1991, the “Glow in the Dark” version was launched, “though classic Silly Putty has remained the best seller.” (Binney & Smith changed its name to Crayola LLC in 2007.)
Affordable and fun, Silly Putty grew into a household standard, selling millions upon millions of units. Production increased exponentially and in 1998 alone, the factory produced eight million eggs filled with putty chunks. Other than colour variations and enhancements, the formula of only a few ingredients (silicone polymers, boric acid, calcium carbonate, and clay) and manufacturing methods remain unchanged.
Hodgson’s financial straits evaporated. A heart attack claimed the life of the 64-year-old business magnate at his Connecticut home on August 7, 1976; his estate was valued at about $140 million. The scientists who launched the squishy substance—but did not profit from it—enjoyed long lives. Engineer and inventor James Wright died at age 87 on August 20, 1961, and fellow scientist Earl Warrick died on November 15, 2002 at 91 years old.
Silly Putty was inducted into the Strong National Museum of Play in 2001, and is also part of the Smithsonian Institution Museum of American History. Satisfying in the hand, versatile with built-in creativity and an engaging snap, Silly Putty eggs have sold in the hundreds of millions over the decades. It is remarkably priced at under $2 in Canada. This year, Silly Putty reaches seventy-five years of fun and learning, and delighting several generations. END 1015 words
(C) Susanna McLeod 2025. She is a writer living in Kingston and learned the hard way that Silly Putty and fabric fibres do not mix.This article first appeared in Kingston Whig-Standard in April 2025.