Side By Side: Benefits of Play-Doh

Jed’s Side

Play-Doh: The Most Economically Efficient Food Source

Play-Doh was manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the first time in the 1930s, to be used originally as wallpaper cleaner. Joe McVicker, the inventor of Play-Doh, heard from a teacher that modeling clay was too tough to manipulate and sent down some of his squishier Play-Doh as a substitute. The success of Play-Doh as a substance to shape and model led it to be re-marketed in the 1950s into what it is today.

I remember having Play-Doh when I was younger and all the fun things you could do with it. The limit was your imagination with what creations you could concoct with Play-Doh and they were always coming out with new ways to use it, too. My sister got an ice cream Play-Doh set as a present once where you could put the Play-Doh into the machine and it came out in the shape of an ice cream swirl.

This, of course, led to the phenomenon that we know and love today of eating Play-Doh. Contrary to popular belief, though, Play-Doh isn’t unhealthy to eat and actually contains many health benefits. If you don’t believe me, Play-Doh containers all have a “nontoxic” sticker on them placed there by the Art and Creative Materials Institute as an Approved Product.

Just think about how much money you’d save if you’d just start eating Play-Doh for your meals rather than regular food. The average small container of Play-Doh from Walmart costs only 50 cents – that’s infinitely cheaper than anything else you could buy. It will certainly give you your daily allotment of sodium and rumor has it, older Play-Doh products actually taste just like chicken.

On the other hand, Hasbro is now working with top scientists to develop different flavors of Play-Doh based on the color of the product. Your favorite flavor of literally anything could be coming in a Play-Doh soon to a store near you. I’ve heard from secret sources behind the scenes that the yellow Play-Doh is lemon custard flavored and is to die for.

I personally think that the dining hall should offer Play-Doh as part of the buffet during meals. The health benefits, for one, would draw in more students, and the cost is surely cheaper than the other food they graciously cook for us. Otherwise, I would highly advise that you go out and stock up on Play-Doh before the prices skyrocket due to high demand.

Monroe’s Side

Play-Doh. Dare I say appetizing?

I remember being obsessed with Play-Doh as a child. My favorite thing to do with it was make things with the Fun Factory machine. I loved trying to see how small I could mold the pieces of Play-Doh. This usually resulted in me making little stringy shapes that resembled pasta. 

I never actually thought about how eating Play-Doh could be good for you, until I started molding other things that looked even better than actual food. Hotdogs, bread dough, tacos, pizza, the possibilities were endless. This of course led me to wonder if eating Play-Doh could be a viable option. 

Play-Doh is made from non-toxic ingredients, is gluten-free, and comes in many different bright appealing colors. Dare I say appetizing? It is also packed with many healthy nutrients that our body needs. It is high in iron, calcium, and potassium. Not to mention Play-Doh offers a great source of fiber which can promote a healthy digestive tract. How could adding Play-Doh to my diet do any harm, I thought. It seemed like eating Play-Doh was a quick and easy way to get essential vitamins, in a fun and easy way.

With all this tempting information, I decided to give eating Play-Doh a try. I was very apprehensive at first, just because it seemed too good to be true! Was I really about to indulge in the greatest, most versatile multivitamin out there? I heard that Play-Doh could taste a little salty, which was a concern because I am typically very sensitive to salt as many of my friends could tell you. But not to fret, after making a two-minute conclusive Google search, the sodium in Play-Doh is what helps preserve it longer as a non GMO. 

After filtering all of my concerns and doing extensive research, I made my first decadent meal out of Play-Doh. I just made your traditional pasta and meatballs, but I ran out of brown Play-Doh so the meatballs were blue instead. I had offered my friends to join me in such high dining but they unfortunately happened to all be busy. I wasn’t a fan of the blueberry meatballs, but the pasta was mouthwatering. I had never had pasta that was better than my grandmother’s! I was truly in shock and awe. Flabbergasted if you will. 

Nowadays Play-Doh is all I eat. I have saved so much money on food as one container is around 50 cents. I feel more exuberant than ever from the plethora of vitamins I am in taking every day. Next time you’re hungry, I hope you reach for a yellow container of Play-Doh and think of me.