#5 – Play-Doh

It’s hard not to get shocked when you hear that Play-Doh was originally created and marketed as wallpaper cleaner. It was created by Noah McVicker, a man that worked at a soap company named Kutol, upon getting a request to make something that can clean non-washable wallpaper. It achieved moderate success for a short period of time, but ultimately ended up not being reliable. However, his sister-in-law noticed that it would be great for teaching kids how to be creative and thought that it should have a more attractive scent and be free of detergent, so the kids would enjoy playing with it. Her suggestion changed everything, as the company did exactly what she said and started marketing it as a toy for children.