SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Play-Doh Works | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Ho ho ho everybody. Santa Chuck here. continuing on with our 12 days of. Christmas toys playlist. I'm going to stop doing that silly voice. because I'm not Santa Claus. I'm just. chucking. I am here to introduce it. Smells good. It tastes good. I just hope. it sounds good. That salty goodness of. Play-Doh. How Play-Doh works. Welcome to Stuff You Should Know from. how stuffuffs.com.

>> Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuck. Bryant. And this is the first of two. stuff you should knows that we're. recording today. My voice already sounds. weird to me. >> What do you mean? >> It doesn't sound a little weird. You. know how like when we get toward the end. of the second one or it gets a little. >> like worn out or something? >> Yeah, like it's been extruded through a. Play-Doh fun factory.

>> Was all that a setup or do you really. feel that way? >> That was off the cuff, baby. >> Okay. No, it doesn't sound weird to me. Your voice never sounds weird unless. you're sick. >> Jerry, judgment call. >> Yeah, Jerry broke the tie. She sided. with me. Well, Jerry wears uh. headphones, but you and I fight the. broadcasting business by being the only. people that don't wear headphones. >> or cans. >> I never get it. I'm like, you're two. feet from me. Why do I need headphones? >> I know. And I don't want to hear myself. anyway. I don't want to hear myself. better. >> No, >> it's terrible. It sounds like torture. >> That How about this for a new SYSK.

t-shirt? No more cans. >> Okay. >> And just have a little X through uh some. headphones. >> I think when you make a stuff, you. should know decree from now on. We. should have like a fairy wand sound. effect. Yeah. >> Like, here's this for a new t-shirt. I. decree it be made into existence. >> Yeah. We We're going to, by the way, since I mentioned it, we're going to. have some new shirts coming soon. >> Yeah. >> Some good like some fan designs even. >> Yep. Pretty exciting. Yeah. >> We And we do have some now that people.

can go buy if you want. >> I like those first designs we had. >> And I Well, let's just have this out on. the air. It's not an argument, but let's. have this discussion. Are we going to. retire the original six from the contest. or should we just let them keep going in. perpetuity? >> Oh, unless there's a reason. I think. perpetuity is the way to go cuz someone. might like the dancing uh I don't even. know what we call that. The. >> the skeleton woodcut. >> Yeah. Per parade of dancing skeletons. >> The macob parade. That's what I I would. call it. Yeah, >> that was a good one. All six of them. were excellent. The baby with the fly on.

its forehead. >> Still my all-time favorite. >> Yeah, it's good stuff. If you don't know. what we're talking about, go to stuffyou. should know.com, our venerable website, and uh in the top navigation, there's a. store button, and it will take you to. our store, and you can see with your own. very eyes what the heck we're talking. about. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> That was off the cuff. >> Yeah, it was. >> I wasn't like, "Oh, we got to plug the. t-shirts.". >> No, no, no. You very rarely say things. as fretfully as that. Like, okay, >> Chuck, >> yes. >> You want to talk about Play-Doh?

>> Yeah. We promised to do this uh recently. and here we are. >> Yeah. In my defense, it was already on. the list. >> Oh well. >> So it's not like, you know, at the beck. and call of anybody's like do Play-Doh, do this, do that. No, >> it was already on the list. >> Dance monkey, >> right? Um, did you play with Play-Doh a. lot when you were a kid? >> Oh, I played with it. I ate it. >> I don't recall eating it. I do. specifically recall eating the paste. that was an off-brand that had a purple.

pirate on it. >> Oh, >> he was what? He was a pirate wearing a. purple hat and I think maybe he had an. orange parrot. >> Yeah. Was the paste Did it have a on the. inside of the lid? Did it have a uh. applicator attached to it? >> Yeah, I totally ate that paste. >> That was the best tasting paste on the. planet. Yeah. As a matter of fact, I. think that paste might have been. manufactured in part to eat. >> like a rule served to to like kids, some. bad kids. >> Yeah. Actually, I want to revise my. statement. I ta I licked and tasted. Play-Doh. I don't remember like.

swallowing it, >> but I remember like, you know, tasting. it and then maybe even putting it in my. mouth and spitting it back out, but I. don't think uh I didn't swallow. >> I gotcha. >> Yeah. Um, I never I don't think I ever. ate Play-Doh in any form or fashion, but. the scent of it, it's unmistakable. >> Unmistakable. >> It's uh so unmistakable, in fact, that. apparently back in 2006, Plato or Hasbro. through a year-long celebration for. Play-Doh. Sure. >> Which it owns, which it bought off of.

Kenner. >> Yeah. >> Which Ker bought from a dude named Joe. McVickers. >> Actually, they bought it from Tonka. Tonka bought it from Kenner. >> Oh, yeah. How'd I forget Tonka? >> Yeah, exactly. >> Um, and for this 50th birthday party, they had a uh a scent, a Play-Doh. perfume released that smelled just like. Play-Doh. >> Can you buy that, I wonder? >> Uh, I looked and I think you can get it, but I don't think as easy as you could. back in 2006. >> Yeah, I wouldn't want to wear it. I was. just curious. >> I think Yeah.

>> Nostalgia like I would like to smell it, but don't spray that stuff on me. >> I don't think you're supposed to wear. it. >> Oh, is it just like a Yeah, one of those. things. It's a mood stabilizer. >> Okay. >> You know what I mean? Yeah. Spray in. front of your face and you just go, "Oh, yeah. Okay.". >> Yeah. Like Rose. >> Maybe I should put this lead pipe down. and rethink things, >> right? Remember when I was a kid and. less violent, >> right? Somebody give me some paste to. eat. >> They should do that. >> Well, back when you were a kid, um, did. you know much about the origin of play. Plato? >> Oh, no, not at all. >> I didn't either until today or yesterday.

when I started researching this. >> Yeah. >> Plato, everyone. And in in this article. by Tracy Wilson uh who hosts Stuff You. Missed in History Class um she says that. it's lore, but I've seen it all over the. place and from what I understand it's. the truth. >> I think it's the truth. >> There was a dude named Joe McVickers who. had a company and his company uh. produced from what I understand. McVicker's invention which was wallpaper. cleaner.

>> Yeah. They uh his his father and uncle. started it and they were called Cout. Products and uh it was a soap company. and but their big seller was this wall. cleaner because when we heated our homes. with coal your house would get coal soot. on the walls. >> Yeah. >> Which is really weird to think of now. >> Yeah. But it's true. And your wallpaper. can still get dirty. Grease from cooking. things, food fights, whatever. >> Yeah, >> your wallpaper can get dirty. Let's just. face facts, everybody. And McVicker's.

company had this putty. It was kind of a. pliable gooey pl put putty that you. slapped up against the wallpaper and. rolled up and down and it just took that. soot or that grease or that spaghetti. sauce clean off. >> and it was wallpaper cleaner. >> Yeah. >> And it was doing okay, I guess. I don't. I don't think they were like hurting. necessarily. But Joe was married to a woman or was. his sister-in-law was a teacher.

>> Yeah, it was. >> in Cincinnati. >> Yeah, they uh they sold a lot of the. stuff for a while, but then natural gas. came around and so they fell upon hard. times, >> right? >> But um Joe took over from Cleo. Uh. Cleo's was his father. >> Mhm. >> And his sister-in-law, Kufu Fall of New. Jersey, read about kids that were making. Christmas ornaments out of that stuff. And she said. >> out of the wallpaper cleaner. >> Yeah. And and uh much like kids do today. with Play-Doh. And she said, "Hey, you.

know, we're hurting. Why don't we try. and turn this stuff into a toy?". >> And they did. So, and in 19 he made a. non-toxic version. Added some almond. scent. >> Mhm. >> And you had your first little off-white. Play-Doh. >> Yeah. Kind of exactly what you would. think of when you think of a gummy. colored like dough. >> Yeah. Off-white, khaki almost. >> Yeah. >> Um and McVicker was a pretty smart dude. as far as business goes. He um donated a.

bunch of cans to the Cincinnati city. school system. >> Very smart. >> And so got these little kids hooked on. Play-Doh. It was a huge hit, but it it. might have just been a regional hit. Uh. and if he hadn't have approached a dude. named Captain Kangaroo. >> Yeah. >> He went to uh what is Captain Kangaroo's. name? Bob. Bob Kishan. I think. >> Bob Kishan. Nice memory, Chuck. >> I pulled that out from I don't know how. many years ago was the last time I heard. that name. >> He uh Well, did you watch Captain.

Kangaroo? >> Oh, yeah. >> Me, too. >> Huge fan. >> Loved Captain Kangaroo. I like Captain. Kangaroo more than Mr. Rogers. >> I liked them both. But yeah, I think I. might have been Yeah, Captain Kangaroo a. little bit more. >> It was a haircut. >> And I was Electric Company over Sesame. Street. Amen. >> Yeah, I liked both, but I liked Electric. Electric Company more. Yeah. >> Uh but I like Pinwheel most. I didn't. watch that. >> It was for real little kids. >> Okay. Um anyway, Captain Kangaroo had a. show and Joe McVicker somehow got in. contact with Captain Kangaroo and said,

"Hey, I have a little deal for you.". Yeah. We've got this awesome stuff. The. kids in Cincinnati are crazy for it. Um. we're calling it Play-Doh. Right now. it's in Off-White, or it used to be, but. now we have four colors: red, blue, yellow, and white. Those are the four. original colors of Play-Doh, by the. Yeah. >> And he gave something to Captain. Kangaroo and said, "I will give you 2%. of gross sales if you mention this on. your show two times a week.". >> Yeah. >> He played with it. >> And Bob Kishian was a money grubber.

That's what we all know. >> He I think he believed in this product. >> Yeah. And he's a smart guy. >> He is. And uh he believed in it so much. that he upped the the number of mentions. without any additional compensation from. two times a week to as many as three. times a week. Yeah. He would play with. Play-Doh on TV and it just took off like. a rocket from there. >> That was his additional compensation. >> He got free Play-Doh. >> No, he had a percentage. So, >> Oh, yeah. You're right. >> You know what I'm saying? >> You're right. >> But it suggests that he believed in it.

>> That's right. He did believe in it. Uh, >> man, do not shatter my image of Captain. Kangaroo. >> I'm not saying he just wanted to make. more money. Of course not. >> Isn't that the show that Mr. Green Jeans. was on? >> Yeah. Big fan of that guy, too. Uh, they. formed the Rainbow Crafts Company. um. you know they wanted to take it out from. under the uh cout products banner. and got famous wildlife artist John uh. Ruman to design that first package with. originally it was very briefly it was an. elf. >> Yeah. >> And those I think are probably if if you.

have a can of that you probably it's. probably in a museum or something. >> That wasn't around long. >> No. >> Uh and then they went to Play-Doh Pete. Um the kid with the smoking the beret. Yeah. Because all little kids wore. beretss and smoks back then. >> Or you wore your dad's dress shirt like. backwards. >> Oh yeah, >> that made a good smock, too. >> Yeah, the one he didn't want anymore. Yeah. >> Or that you thought he didn't want. anymore, but he really got mad at you. cuz you got paint on it. >> That's my good short sleeve dress shirt.

>> Uh and finally, it took all the way. until 2002. Did the Urbal Elvis wear short sleeve. dress shirts? >> Oh man. >> Really? >> With slacks and ties. >> Yeah. My dad usually as a principal wore. a coat, but when you take off the jacket and. you've got the short sleeve on, that's. something else. >> with a blue felt tip pen, a red felt tip. pen, and a green felt tip pen in his. pocket. Front pocket. >> That was your dad? >> Yeah. Oh, he's a mechanical engineer. >> Oh, so each one was had a different use.

>> Yeah. >> Interesting. >> Plus, I think he also just thought they. were pretty. >> Yeah. >> Like they kind of they made his they. made his shirt pocket pop. That's where you get it with your shirt. pocket thing, >> right? >> All right. It took until 2002 for that. beret to become a baseball cap. >> And then now he's just gone. >> Yeah. I was looking around anymore at. all, is he? >> Not at all. Now it's a can with arms and. the lid's kind of pulled back. And in. between the rim of the can and the top. of the lid are a couple of eyes. It.

looks a bit like a garbage can, but it's. obviously a Play-Doh can, but just kind. of I don't like it. >> Yeah, >> I like Play-Doh Pete, the kid with the. beret. >> Yeah, me too. >> He was great. >> That's what we grew up with is. nostalgia. >> Yeah, but he was around for a really. long time and now they just do away with. him like he's nothing. >> That's another shirt. Bring back Plato. Pete. >> Yeah, >> we'll get sued. >> Yes. Although I didn't get the. impression that they were too terribly. latigious. Well, plus we could tell.

them, you know, we sold nine t-shirts. Here's your $73. >> Here's your 2%. >> So, Play-Doh, we all played with it. It. was fun uh for modeling, but it was not. like you if you were like me, you your. hopes were dashed a bit when you modeled. something and left it out overnight. because you thought it would make it. into a a permanent um exhibit. >> Yeah. >> But it would really just kind of break. apart. It It's not like you can't cure.

it like you do modeling clay. >> No. I was on Plato's site and they they. readily admit that. Yeah. >> As a matter of fact, they say if you. want a permanent thing, go get you some. modeling clay. >> Yeah. Get some Sculpey. >> Um. >> I don't want to buzz market, but Sculpey. is a lot of fun. >> Okay. Um we're talking about Play-Doh. though. >> Yeah, but Sculpey is fun. >> Um so, but they say modeling clay. They. don't say Sculpey, but they say if you. want to make a permanent thing, go get. some modeling clay. It's not what. Play-Doh's for. No, it's it's for being. in the moment, making fun things, and. then put smashing those and then putting.

it back in the can, >> right? >> Doing it all over again every day. >> and driving your mom crazy because she. can't stand colors to be mixed together, so she sits there and like picks them. apart or whatever. >> or it's in the orange shag carpet, >> which again, Hasbro has some some. helpful suggestions for how to clean. this stuff up. >> Sure. Um, number one, and you will. understand eventually by the end of this. podcast, why do not use warm water when. you're cleaning up play-doh from the. carpet. >> Yeah,

>> it will make everything a million times. worse. Yeah. >> What they say, if possible, if you have. the patience of Job, just go ahead and. uh let this thing dry, turn brittle, use. a stiff brush, and just kind of um brush. it out of the carpeting, vacuum it up. Boom. >> Yeah. or do the reasonable thing and get. hardwood floors. >> All right, we'll we'll discuss that very. soon um after this message.

>> All right, so Play-Doh is fun enough on. its own. Like when I was a kid, I had. zero autramol to go along with my. Play-Doh. >> I don't recall having anything but just. the Play-Doh, too. All I had was the. Play-Doh and my imagination. And uh in. 1960 though, I said, "You know what? Uh. let's get a couple of engineers from. General Electric to design what's going. to be called the Fun Factory.". >> That's like that was it. >> That was it. Then you could put Play-Doh.

into uh various forms and molds and. press it and have it come out like. sausage or spaghetti or. >> just whatever they decided to design. Like, >> have you been to the site recently? >> Yeah. >> There are hundreds of different things. that you can buy now with your Play-Doh. Of course. >> Yes, for sure. And different types of. Play-Doh, too, to to make different. looking things as well. >> Yeah. >> Um, but the original Fun Factory thing. was basically just a hand pushed lever. >> Yeah. >> That shoved the Play-Doh inside through.

a hole. >> It was a sausage grinder. >> And then basically Yeah. And then in. front of the hole, um, you had a just. kind of like different, um, shapes that. you could make this thing into. Yep. >> What' you say? Spaghetti. >> Yeah, like spaghetti or thick rope. Oh, yeah. >> And the the rope. Speaking of the rope, all of these are basically what it is is. an extruder. Yeah, >> this is a Play-Doh extruder is what what. these guys came up with. And I guarantee. they had colored felttip pens in the. fronts of their pockets, too, when they. designed this thing. >> But this if you took all the Play-Doh,

by the way, here's a Play-Doh fun fact. If you took all the Play-Doh ever. created and ran it through the fun. factory and extruded it into one long. rope, >> Yeah. >> it would wrap around the Earth 3,000. times. How many Big Macs is that? >> No, I'm sorry. It would wrap around the. Earth 300 times. Let's not Let's not go. crazy. >> Oh, only 300? >> Yeah. And you could go to the moon and. back 10 times with that rope. You could. make a pretty good little bridge. That. would be kind of crumbly by the next. day. >> Yeah. >> But it'd be colorful.

>> That's right. >> That's a lot of Play-Doh, man. >> Yeah. They've sold uh 950 million pounds. of this stuff, >> more than two billion cans since 1956. >> Yeah. And they apparently make about 100. million cans every year. >> Yeah. >> What I find heartening is those are. current statistics. >> They're not rated for inflation. >> No. But um this article that Tracy wrote. was apparently written in 2006 and she. said that they make 95 million cans. So. they've upped their production by 5.

million cans a year, which means. Play-Doh is not going anywhere. >> That's right. >> I'm pretty psyched about that. >> Yeah. And all the stuff they have now, like um they've got all sorts of. licensing deals. Like they have like the. Play-Doh Disney Princess set and. >> you can make dresses for your Disney. princess out of Play-Doh. >> And um they have a long-standing. tradition too of making fake food. >> Oh yeah. >> Like I was I was watching some um I. wouldn't really call it a documentary. It was almost just a compilation of. Play-Doh ads over the years. >> Yeah. >> And um there's one from the 80s where.

you could make Pizza Hut pizzas out of. Play-Doh. >> I think I remember that. Nowadays, they. have um like a kind of a sweet shop, I. think is the name of the line. >> And like I said, they have different. types of Play-Doh. Some are squishier. and and thinner and more pliable. So, you can use those to make the frosting. You use regular Play-Doh to make the the. actual cupcake. >> That's cuz the cupcake grays, I bet. >> Yeah, probably. >> It's filtered down to kids. And with the. gluten-free. >> craze, um on their website it says.

contains gluten. >> Yeah, it has wheat. Yeah, but they like. have to advertise that now because your. child will want to eat the Play-Doh and. if you have your kid off gluten, they. can't eat the Play-Doh. No. >> And mommy has to explain that. Or daddy. >> But if your kid has a peanut allergy or. um a milk allergy, >> yeah, >> you're fine. >> That's right. Water, salt, and flour uh. is the general that I mean it's a it's a. very proprietary recipe obviously,

>> right? It's a US patent number 6713624, >> but if you look that up, you're not. going to find the ingredients. >> No, like you said, it's proprietary. Um, they they do give kind of like a general. um ingredient list somewhere, I guess, in the patent itself. >> Yeah. >> Um but yeah, they're not going to tell. you like how to make it, >> but we'll list those really quickly and. then we're going to talk about. chemistry. >> Yeah. So, we're going to get to the. chemical molecular basis of Play-Doh.

itself, >> but in broad terms, it is water. Uh, you. got a starch-based binder. You have a uh. retrogradation inhibitor because you. have to inhibit that retrogradation. >> Sure. >> Uh salt. No, there's salt in there. In. fact, at one point it was too salty. And. they had to get a a new uh chemist to. remove some of the salt. >> Is that right? >> Yeah. But you remember how salty it. tasted? >> No, I didn't. I never tasted it. >> Oh, you didn't? No, I said. >> I thought you said you tasted it. No, I. said I never did. I ate the paste. >> Oh, okay. >> I never tasted it, but the smell was.

>> Was the paste salty? >> No, >> no, >> no. It had a a weird sweet taste to it. It wasn't overly sweet, but of all of. the tastes, I would say, >> just sweet enough to get a kid to eat. it, >> right? >> Uh salt, you got your lubricant. Um, and. all this will make sense in a bit. A. surfactant, a preservative, a hardener, a hctant, a fragrance of course, and. color. Uh, I know he fra uh used almond. for the first fragrance, but I wonder if.

it's still an offshoot of that. >> Does it smell like almond? >> From what I saw, they've admitted to. vanilla. >> Oh, really? >> That's all I've seen. >> Okay. >> And they're saying like that that. doesn't tell us anything. >> That's all they admitted to. >> Yeah. >> Under questioning. >> Yeah. Um, but the the colors, we should. also say, Chuckers, um, they originally. had red, yellow, and blue, the primary. colors. Then they added white. And this. is all in the ' 50s. And those were the. only colors until the 80s. >> Wow. >> And then they added a couple more and. they had eight colors total. And then.

now today it's like a whole rainbow, a. whole galaxy. >> Yeah. >> Of different colors. >> I never got the white cuz it just it. looked dirty so quickly. >> Yeah. >> I never really understood the purpose of. the white. >> I liked it. I thought it was a nice. juosition with the primary colors. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> You were an artist. >> No, I was just a a connoisseur. >> All right. So now um the rest of the. show we're going to talk about. chemistry. >> You're not happy about this, are you? >> Well, >> what did you think about this article? >> I thought it was it was good, you know,

cuz that's what How Stuff Works does is. they tell the story behind things. Like. we can't just talk about surfing. We. have to talk about the physics of a. wave, >> right? >> I get that. Um but yeah, chemistry was. not my bag, baby. >> This one um this one kissing and roller. coasters, you were kind of like you had. a little bit of protest going on. Like. come on. This is fun stuff. >> Yeah. When you're talking about kissing, you want to talk about, you know, >> remember the title of it was a rigid. sterile look at kissing. >> Well, I don't know if the title for this.

will end up being what I wanted, but it. was going to be taking the fun out of. Play-Doh. >> No, let's call it how Play-Doh works. >> All right. But you heard it here. That. was my. >> That was the working title. >> Yeah. >> Uh, all right. Well, I will kick the. chemistry off and maybe I will spark. your interest. Are you ready? Yes. >> Do you have your beret and your smok on? >> This isn't even the fun chemistry. You. get to burn things. >> No. This is the chemistry of compounds. You're just adding them together. >> Yeah. There's a little heat involved as.

we'll see. So, >> possibly. Yeah. >> You could start that flame. >> Okay. >> Okay. So, um the whole basis of. Play-Doh, it turns out, is an. interaction between starch and water. >> That's right. >> And starches are um they're. polysaccharides, which are sugar. molecules. Mhm. >> And there's basically two varieties or. two types that uh combine. There's. amalos and there's amalopectin. >> That's right. >> And amalos is like a string. >> Amalopectin is branched. And when they.

get together, they form a starburst. shape. They form a molecule in a. starburst shape and it's arranged around. a central area, a hollow. >> Yeah. >> Called a hilum. H i l u m. >> I'm going with the hilum. And um it's. all held together thanks to hydrogen. bonds. And then you have all that these. polysaccharide chains all mixed together. with hydrogen bonds forming a starburst. And my friend, you have a starch. molecule. And when you have that starch. molecule, you have one of the two bases.

of Plato. >> Yeah. And this one does, this article. does have some pretty handy uh. illustrations. If um hearing this. doesn't make as much sense, you can. follow along on your own computer. and look at the illustrations. Uh if you. add cold water to starch, um the. granules are going to absorb some, but. when things really get interesting is. when you add warm water or when you heat. up that cold water to be warm water. Like you can mix it ahead of time and.

then warm it up. >> And basically what you're doing is. making a gelatin just like when you make. Jell-O, it's got to be warm water, >> right? Like if you've ever had like corn. starch or flour or whatever um and you. add cold water to it, they just kind of. separate, right? >> Yeah. It's really untored. >> It doesn't do much. It's almost like the. starch protects itself against the cold. It's like you stay over there cold. water. But when you use warm water or a. mechanical action of mixing them. together, it forms like you said, it it. gelatinizes. >> That's right. >> And now you're starting to get the basis.

of Play-Doh. But the problem is um when. you just add warm water and the uh. starch in this case it's wheat starch. that they use right because they have to. warn against gluten. Um. >> when you add those two things they mix. together well they form a nice. gelatinous goo. >> Mhm. >> But as it dries you've got the problem. of retrogradation. >> That's right. >> And that's that's trouble. >> Yeah. because uh it really depends on. the breakdown of amalos to amalopectin.

is is the key. If you have a lot of. amalos, it's going to take more swelling. to gelatinize, >> right? But you get a nice robust gel. >> Yeah. >> When you have a lot of amalos, but the. problem is that excess amalos separates. some from the water, binds to itself, and then you have something that's not a. full compound anymore. It's basically. like a couple of It's It's like you've. got that gel and then some extra amalos. and it's dry and brittle and it's not.

good. >> Well, yeah. And in the case of making a. product for kids to play with, it's too. firm. Like they had to get this recipe. just right to make it firm but still. pliable. >> And a lot of a lot of work went into. this, I'm sure. >> Yeah. Because anytime like they started. with a starch and a water, put it. together, fantastic. But then that. created this problem and then when they. went to solve this problem, it created. this problem. So then they had to solve. it with this problem and then after. adding like seven things they finally. have this like precariously balanced.

compound. >> that's perfect. >> that's perfect but it's pretty neat. It's really complicated and it it's. self- complicating which I find very. interesting. >> It is. And uh what they ended up. settling with as far as percentages go. for that wheat starch was 25% amalos and. 75% amalopectin. They found that to be. the secret sauce, >> right? >> As our buddy Chad likes to say. And the. reason they have the amalopectin. is because the amalopect pectin is a. waxy starch and it keeps the amalos from. binding to itself. So you have um you.

you've prevented that retrogradation. problem. Yeah. Right. Where the amalos. separates from the water and just binds. to itself. The problem is now that you. have this extra amalopectin. The. amalopectin. >> it it keeps the whole thing together but. it does it too much and now you have a. sticky tacky compound. Yeah. You don't. want it sticky. >> No. And anybody's ever played with. Play-Doh and tried to make something, you can't make it sticky. It'll stick to. your hands or it'll stick to itself. It's not going to make a cheeseburger. like that.

>> No. >> No. Um, so they added something else, a. lubricant. >> That's right. In this case, uh, I don't. know if it's that's part of the um the. secret or not, but it's probably some. sort of a vegetable oil or mineral oil. Well, they think possibly it's it's a. mineral oil which is derived from. petroleum, which petroleum, which is why. it's non-toxic, but you still shouldn't. eat it. >> Yeah, I did see that there was. petroleum. I bet you they're going to. come out with a gluten-free Play-Doh. >> I'm surprised they haven't already, >> but that would almost be like admitting.

your child is eating this or can eat it. >> Well, some of that new stuff like the. sweet shop stuff. Yeah. I'm actually I. would be very surprised if they hadn't. done some R&D of different flavored. Play-Doh, >> right? >> You know, because they have the. different colors and this is supposed to. look like this frosting. This is. supposed to look like this frosting. So, I wonder if they were like, "Well, we. can make this taste like vanilla or or. you know, cotton candy or whatever." But. yeah, and then they kind of shook their. heads off and were like, "Wait, wait,

wait. We can't have kids eating this. stuff.". >> Or I wonder if they've done R&D on how. much of it you can eat before it makes. you sick. Surely. >> like if they're making something that. looks like a cupcake. >> Yeah. >> Some kid is probably going to eat that. entire thing at some point. >> And like we said, they've pretty much. always been like, "You can make fake. food with this.". >> Yeah. >> Pizza Hut gave us money to do this, >> but don't eat it. >> Right. It's a weird mixed message. >> It is a totally mixed message. >> But you were saying they use the. petroleum oil for as a lubricant. >> Yeah. And that keeps it from being all. sticky. So, uh, if you've ever played.

with it, you know it like it's very. pliable, um, and moist, but it's not. going to stick to your fingers, which is. the key, >> right? So, you have added the mineral. oil or some sort of lubricant. >> to prevent the extra amalopectin. from making it sticky. >> And the whole reason you added. amalopectin was because too much amalos. can cause retrogradation. So, you've got. all these solutions and you've got the. lubricant solution. The problem is you. can't just put like you can't just drop.

it into lubricant and expect it to. stick. The lubricant will won't bind. within this compound. >> Yeah. >> So you have to add yet another thing, the uh surfactant. >> Yeah. Surfactants you'll see in a lot of. uh household cleansing products if you. use that uh chemical junk to clean your. house. Uh but a sur a surface active. agent is another name for it. And it. basically uh they're artificially. manufactured. They're molecules, but. it's gonna suspend something in water.

That's the whole key to being a. surfactant. >> Imagine a surfactant has two ends. And. one end is hydrophilic, which means it. attracts water and is attracted to. water, and the other is hydrophobic, which means it repels water, and it's. actually attracted to fats, lipids. Right. >> Yeah. Or afraid of it even. The cool. thing about a surfactant is that if you. take it and you throw it into a solution. of water and oil, fats and waters, right? >> Yeah. >> It one end will attract the fat. molecules and another end will attract.

the water molecules. And what the the. end result of all of this is that you. can basically suspend fats in water or. water and fats. Um, so that you have. effectively, molecularly speaking, something a compound that's all mixed. together. Yeah. It's not going to. separate like oil and water because the. whole thing's being held together by. surfactants. >> That's right. >> That's pretty amazing. >> Yeah. It actually binds to the molecules. of the lubricant. It's a chemical. reaction is taking place. >> and keeps them all mixed together. It.

won't allow them to separate. So, we've. got the lubricant in there. >> Yeah. >> The whole thing's being held in place by. their surfactant. >> All lubed up, ready to go. We've got a. little extra water, Chuck. What are we. going to do? >> Uh, well, I don't think we mentioned. earlier, the reason it dries out to. begin with, if you leave it out. overnight, is just because evaporation, >> right? And Hasbro recommends that if. this happens, you take your Play-Doh. modeling clay. Yeah. >> And you um wrap it in like a damp paper. towel, put it back in the can, put the. cover on it, leave it overnight. Should.

be good as new. >> Yeah. And I've seen you can also add a. little water to it as well. Yeah. >> Um but I've never tried that. So, that, my friend, is it's a very fine-tuned. mixture. >> Like you said, they had to I'm sure it. took a lot of work over the years to get. it just exactly right. And, uh, we're. going to learn how you can make your own. right after this break. >> So, Chuck, >> yeah. >> Uh, we should have said there's a couple. other things that they add like you get. excess water.

>> Yeah. >> So, they added a little salt. >> Yeah, sure. >> And apparently for the excess salt, they. brought in a new chemist. >> Yeah. So, it's just fine perfectly. fine-tuned. >> Yeah. >> Stuff. And then. >> you got to color it, of course, and and. give it its scent. >> Yeah. Um and then, uh possibly. make it taste in the future. Who knows? I'm betting on that. >> Yeah. And you know, the salt also adds a. little antimicrobial element to it, >> right? >> Which is nice. >> So, it has it acts as a preservative as. well. Um, and to make Play-Doh, you just.

put all this stuff in these um in the. right measurements and apply heat to it. and mix it together and package it. And. that's Play-Doh. >> Yeah. And it's got to have that shelf. life. Like this is it's really hard to. come up with a product like this that. meets all those needs. And we'll still. like, you know, I'm sure there were. times early on we're like, "Oh, this. stuff's two weeks old on the shelf. It's. like a brick." Back to the drawing. board. >> Yep. >> Put on your beret. >> Yeah. >> And your smock. Remember in our how. Twinkies works episode, they dealt with. that initially.

>> Oh, the shelf life. >> Yeah. >> Right. So, they just made it infinity. >> Man, that was such a good episode. >> That was good. >> One of my all-time favorites. >> Agreed. We still get emails from people. that are like, "I found the banana. Twinkies.". >> Yeah. They they have them in like um. limited release from once in a while. >> Yeah. >> I have yet to try one. >> I remember trying one years ago, but it. it was in my bag. I don't like banana. flavored things, but I like bananas. >> Huh. You're a very complex man, Chuck. Well, they don't they don't quite get it. right. I don't think ever. I've never. tasted a banana flavored thing that got.

it right. >> Gotcha. >> I'm hard to please. >> So, um, man, you just totally threw me. off. What were we talking about? >> We were I think we were to the point. where we're going to make our own. Right. >> Right. So, it's very tough to make until. you come upon the recipe, but apparently. a lot of people, even though it's a. proprietary recipe, a lot of people have. come up with their own recipes for. Play-Doh. >> Sure. Sure. And it's fun to do with your. kid, you know, like if they like playing. with it, then you can teach them a. little chemistry along the way, >> right? Make it a learning moment. >> Or if you um want to save some money or.

>> you don't want to feed the corporate. beast, >> that too. >> Um or yeah, you just want to do. something with your kid and make it. You. can do all this stuff. It just takes a. little elbow grease and work. And. there's recipes all over the internet. There's some for like glow-in-the-dark. Play-Doh. >> Oh, really? >> There's some for glittery Play-Doh. Um, there's a couple of recipes in this. article on how stuff works, but. basically you're doing the same thing. You're adding starch, >> yeah, >> to water. You're adding some sort of.

lubricant to it, something to hold the. whole thing together. Uh, in this. recipe, it's a cream of tartar. >> Yes. >> Which stiffens eggs and gives Play-Doh, homemade Play-Doh, its its firmness. But. there's a lot of recipes online that if. you want to not only just play with. Play-Doh with your kid, but make it. that's a great chemistry teaching. experience, I think. >> Agreed. And you can explain um you know. what what each ingredient is doing. And. then at the very end, you're going to.

have Play-Doh and your kids's going to. say, "This Play-Doh stinks. It's not. nearly as good as the real thing.". >> Unless it's the peanut butter variety. Then I'll bet you're like, "Oo, this is. tasty Play-Doh." Do they have that? >> Yeah, there's a recipe for it in this. article. >> So, peanut butter is one of the. ingredients. >> Yes. >> Interesting. >> Yeah. Or you know what? You could make. it with your kid while you listen to us. stumble through the explanation. >> Yeah. >> And to everybody who's doing that right. now, hello. Hello, everyone.

>> And your kid's gonna say, "Who are these. jerks? And why does my Play-Doh not. work? >> Can we just go to the store and buy some. Play-Doh, please?". >> Yep. >> Yeah. Well, we're portable. We We go. around on MP3 players, so we can go to. the store with you, too. >> Exactly. >> Uh, what else you got? >> And And then you can listen to our. episode on temper tantrums on the way to. the store. >> That was a good one, too. >> It was. >> What else you got? >> Uh, I've got nothing else. Um, >> I got plenty more. >> Oh, well, please. >> Mr. Bill, remember him from Saturday. Night Live?

>> Of course. >> He was made of Play-Doh. >> Yeah, >> they made the first Mr. Bill short for. 20 bucks. >> That's pretty good stuff. Um, >> what else you got? Fun facts. Play-Doh. fun facts. >> There's a uh there's not not just one, but two at least Play-Doh 3D printers on. the market right now. >> Really? >> Yeah. It's pretty awesome. >> So, you put a hunk of it in there or. >> Uhhuh. different hunks in there and. >> Oh, no. No. And it and it uh I was about. to say a hunk in there and then it. whittleles it down, but that's the. opposite of 3D printing. >> No, no, it it extrudes it. It builds up. >> Yeah. That's crazy.

>> There's one on ThinkGeek for like 50. bucks that um plugs into your iPad. So, it that's where your schematics are and. it tells it what to do and it makes. pretty cool little 3D Play-Doh stuff. >> That's kind of fun. >> It is. Uh, at the same time, it's kind. of like, you know, I mean, you're you're. really building a little geek there, but. the the imagination and the hands-on. things kind of taken out of it a little. bit. >> Well, I think that that's the new. imagination, my friend. >> I guess so. To follow forms and. schematics to a tea,

>> maybe. So, what would be cool is if you. could design your own schematic. and then. >> which I'm sure you can. >> Yeah. >> Um, and then Plato has one called the. Dovinci. >> I saw that. >> Um, and that's a 3D printer, too. And. then one other thing I found, we were. talking about Play-Doh ads earlier. >> There is a series of band Play-Doh ads. that were published in Singapore a. couple years back. >> Oh, band as in I thought you meant like. bands recorded music. No, no. Like a n.

>> taboo play-doh ads that are. >> very uh adult ccentric. >> Really? >> Yeah. That um. >> Can you say what? >> Well, how about this? >> Yeah, >> I made a slideshow of them on our site. >> Ah, >> you can go check them out. They're. pretty crazy. >> Okay. >> Um they're not like naked or not adult. in that way, but like kind of violent. and a little dark. >> Um that this ad agency made. >> basically without the approval of. Hasbro. >> Yeah. Um, clearly and uh the Hasbro came.

in and like denounced it and everything, but they're pretty great. So, if you go. to stuff you should know.com and search. uh banned Play-Doh ads, >> it will come up. >> And Hasbro had a news release. It says, "We don't endorse this use of Play-Doh. brand moldable clay.". >> Right. >> They just kept working the name in. there. >> Yeah. But it's pretty crazy. I learned. all about something called scam ads. where um advertising agencies basically. create ad campaigns based around brand. names without the brand name's. permission simply to submit them for uh.

awards consideration to expand their. prestige. >> Interesting. Well, and uh if you want to. be a TV commercial director, you have. probably made some spec or fake ads. yourself, right? >> Just to have on your reel. >> Uh like you know, I'm going to make a. Dorito. Well, Doritos does that contest. every year, >> right? So, this is that same thing, but. sometimes they really run a foul of like. the spirit of the brand. >> Sure. >> Um, and there's Yeah. Scam ads. >> Yeah. They're like European commercials,

which are always way better. >> Yeah. >> And risque and like funny. >> Yeah. >> Get with it, America. >> So, if you want to learn more about. Play-Doh, including a few uh Play-Doh. recipes, you can type Play-Doh into the. search bar at houseofworks.com. And. since I said search bar, it's time for a. listener mail. Uh, I'm going to call this another MPAA. called the Golden Fbomb. Uh, hey guys, I. discovered your show. Um, and he says. hello to Jerry and spelled her name. right, too. >> Oh, that was nice. >> Which doesn't happen often.

>> No, >> the spelling that is. I discovered your podcast while looking. for something interesting to listen to. while I worked on my organic farm in. Kawaii. Nice. Uh, I heard the MPAA show. and I just had to write in. Uh, growing. up, my friends and I were always looking. for a way to sneak into movie theaters. via the exit door, having an older. friend or parent buy his tickets, using. a a ticket, single ticket stub, pass. back through to get in on the same. ticket, etc. He had all sorts of ways of. stealing. Uh, our goal was to get into. an R-rated movie underage with NC7 being.

the ultimate prize. >> PG-13 always felt like we had failed or. were settling. So to make it fun, uh, we. would count how many expletives were, uh, we heard and compare notes after the. movie. >> He really took things to a different. level. >> Yeah. It must have been a time when. movies weren't as good as they are today. in the theaters. >> No, movies have never been this bad. >> I know, man. It is really out of. control. >> It's terrible. Uh, one pattern we soon. realized was that PG-13 movies are.

allotted one fbomb. Uh, listening for. that 1F bomb became the looked for. moment, making the PG-13 movie. experience a tad more interesting and. something I look out for to this day. still. Uh, there are some real classics, including Ron Burgundy's and Anchor Man, uh, most recently in Skyfall when Judy. Dench. uses that naughty word. >> She did. I don't remember that. Judy, >> the first one in the Bond series, he. claims. >> Judy. Jodie. Jodie. >> Oh, I just saw Filamina, by the way. Finally. >> What did you think?

>> It was fantastic. Was that just an. amazing change of pace for her? She. always plays like the sharp pulled. together like like boss lady and like in. this one she was just kind of just. working class. God, that was a good. movie. >> It was really good. >> Love that movie. >> Highly recommended. Um and then I. noticed uh the rating rule is not. ironclad, however, because recent. examples of Lincoln and Filamina, hey, how about that? Had two of those naughty. words a piece. >> Lincoln had it in there, huh? That. Spielberg gets away with anything. Well,

he's the one that had the whole thing. changed. >> Oh, yeah. He was the one that created. it. >> PG-13. Yeah. And then he ran a foul of. it. Jeez. >> Anyway, my absolute favorite PG-13, Golden Goal. Naughty word. Uh, not. mentioned anywhere else that I've. researched was the one that got me out. of my seat cheering. Like, the. president's speech in Independence Day. is from Oblivion. Tom Cruz's character. uh waits to the very end of the movie to. deliver the perfectly timed line to his. enemy. That movie stunk,

>> did it? >> Yeah. >> I heard the other one was pretty good. though. Edge of Tomorrow. >> Yeah, that was really good. Oblivion. stunk. Uh, and he closes by saying, "Mahalo, New Loa. Thank you very much uh. for all you do to infotain." And that is. Evans on Kawaii. Uh, yeah, sorry Evans. Oblivion was no good. He said he liked. it a lot. But, you know, to each their. own. I'm not going to poo poo his taste. >> Good for you, Chuck. >> Thanks for your your game and your. thievery. If you uh want to talk to me. and Chuck about movies, we are always.

down for that. We love talking about. movies. We should just like do an. episode where we just just say, "Have. you seen this movie?" "Oh, yeah. I love. that one." for like a half hour. >> There'll be a couple of people out there. that are like, "Oh, this is a good. episode.". >> There are podcasts like exactly like. that. You know that. >> Um what was I just saying? >> Oh, yeah. If you want to get in touch. with us for whatever reason, movies or. otherwise, you can tweet to us at. syskodcast. You can join us on. facebook.com/stuffyou.

should know. You can send us an email to. stuffpodcast@ousstuffworks.com. And you can join us at our home on the. web stuff.com. >> For more on this and thousands of other. topics, visit housestuffworks.com.