Trademark: Silly Putty

First Used: 1949

First Registered: 1952

Current Owner: CRAYOLA PROPERTIES, INC. [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark; design mark

Primarily Associated With: plastic known as organo silicone designed and sold for use as a modeling clay and amusement device by children [2]

Generic Phrase: toy putty, as in SILLY PUTTY® brand toy putty

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

The Silly Putty® [4] brand (also known as Silly Putty The Original® [5] and/or with the tagline Stretch Your Imagination® [6]) began not in a toy store, but in a laboratory. In 1943, the U.S. faced a major shortage of rubber, which was a critical need for military equipment during World War II. General Electric researcher James Wright was experimenting with silicone-based substitutes when he stumbled on an odd, stretchy material made from boric acid and silicone oil. It wasn’t strong enough to replace rubber, but it had some unusual traits: it could bounce like a ball, stretch without tearing, and even pick up print from newspapers.

For a few years, the strange substance circulated as a scientific curiosity, passed around at parties and business meetings where it was jokingly referred to it as “nutty putty.” The breakthrough came in 1950, when marketer Peter Hodgson saw its potential as a toy. He packaged the putty in small plastic eggs and branded it “Silly Putty,” launching it just in time for Easter.

The brand eventually found a permanent home with Crayola, which acquired Silly Putty in 1977 and continues to sell it in its signature eggs today. Beyond the toy aisle, Silly Putty has had some unexpected roles: astronauts on Apollo missions used it to secure tools in zero gravity, and it’s still marketed as a stress reliever as much as a children’s toy. From lab bench to lunar orbit, Silly Putty has proven that even the quirkiest inventions can find a lasting place in culture.

So what exactly is Silly Putty toy putty made of? Crayola does not disclose the exact formula, but in its past trademark filings it has described the substance as organo silicone or organosilicon material. Whatever it is, the unique composition gives Silly Putty toy putty its signature mix of properties: it stretches slowly, snaps under sharp force, bounces when rolled into a ball, and can mold into nearly any shape.