Idaho Played a Role in Creation of a Very Dangerous Toy

Not that potato farmers plotted harm for your kids, but the original Mr. Potato Head used real potatoes. Since Idaho leads the nation in production, many Idaho potatoes became my childhood toys. The issue wasn’t the tubers. It was the sharp accessories we used—the ears, eyes, noses, mouths, and arms. Someone finally got the message, and a safer toy was developed with plastic potatoes. I’m sure some environmentalists are railing against plastic, but the change blinded fewer kids.

This subject came up on-air as I was talking with Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon. The state GOP is working with Toys for Tots, collecting items for needy kids. Dorothy and I are from the same generation, and she remembered the real potatoes. She also reminded me of a toy called Jarts, which were heavy oversized darts with sharp ends that we tossed in our backyards.

The era was satirized on an early episode of Saturday Night Live. Candace Bergen played a reporter interviewing the President of a toy company selling bags of sharp glass. He was played by Dan Aykroyd. It remains one of the most legendary sketches ever aired on the program, frequently being repeated during holiday specials.

Do you have memories of toys that were considered dangerous? Dorothy's remarked it was amazing we all survived. I’m still walking (barely) after numerous stunts I tried while riding a bicycle. It was a different time and there were very few helicopter parents.

I was playing hockey one day on my front porch because it was raining in the street. A friend checked me and I went through the big living room window. It sliced my shirt off and didn’t touch my skin. I had to use my paper route money for the new window.