10 Surprising Facts About Toy Giant Hasbro as It Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary

In 1923, Henry and Hillel Hassenfeld, Polish immigrant brothers, established Hassenfeld Bros. Inc., a Rhode Island-based company that initially dealt in textile and fabric remnants. This humble beginning laid the foundation for a global toy empire: the name was eventually shortened to Hasbro, and their iconic toys—such as Mr. Potato Head, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Transformers, and many more—became staples in toy collections worldwide.

As the company marks its 100th year, explore some of the most fascinating moments in Hasbro's history, including an encounter with the Food and Drug Administration and their unexpected link to Death Row Records.

1. Hasbro initially produced school supplies.

The Hassenfeld brothers initially had no plans to enter the toy industry when they founded what would later become Hasbro. In 1923, the company was focused on selling or repurposing textile remnants, which they eventually used for products like pencil cases and other school supplies. It was Merrill, Henry Hassenfeld’s son, who recognized the potential of venturing into toys, believing the company needed products beyond the back-to-school season. During the 1930s and 1940s, Merrill introduced dress-up kits and accessories with themes like doctors, nurses, and even air raid wardens. By 1952, when Hasbro launched the iconic Mr. Potato Head, created by inventor George Lerner, it was evident that Hasbro’s future lay in toys, not school supplies.

2. Hasbro’s Flubber caused skin rashes in children.

Plastic transformed the toy industry, but it wasn’t without its drawbacks. While Hasbro eliminated food waste by replacing real potatoes with plastic ones for Mr. Potato Head, they faced challenges with Flubber. Introduced in 1963, the stretchy polymer was designed to appeal to fans of The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and its sequel Son of Flubber (1963), Disney movies centered around a scientist who creates a miraculous slime.

The retail version of Flubber had one notable effect: it caused rashes in some children who handled it. After receiving complaints, the Food and Drug Administration reported approximately 1600 cases of mild skin irritation. Merrill Hassenfeld defended the product, stating that Hasbro had conducted safety tests. Despite this, Flubber was ultimately pulled from stores.

3. Hasbro coined the term action figure.

To promote the 1964 launch of their combat-ready team G.I. Joe, Hasbro needed a strategy to attract boys who might be hesitant about playing with “dolls.” Instead, Don Levine, Hasbro’s creative director, proposed labeling the Joes as “action figures.”

Levine didn’t invent the term, which had been used in newspaper ads for a western-themed toy set as far back as 1951. However, Hasbro undeniably made it mainstream. G.I. Joe launched in 1964 and became a huge hit, with the term action figure now commonly associated with muscular heroes in toy lines ranging from He-Man to Star Wars.

4. Hasbro once sold kitchenware.

Despite their only connection to cooking being the Easy-Bake Oven, Hasbro introduced a range of cookware—pots, pans, and utensils—backed by famed TV chef Graham Kerr from The Galloping Gourmet in the early 1970s. The product line failed to gain traction. Combined with a rigid management approach that stifled innovation, the company’s performance suffered. By the late 1970s, competitors mockingly called it “Hasbeen.” (A revitalized G.I. Joe series and the purchase of board game leader Milton Bradley helped turn things around.)

5. Hasbro once operated multiple day care centers.

During Hasbro’s struggles in the 1970s, the company ventured into the child care industry with a poorly thought-out move: They purchased the popular preschool show Romper Room and started franchising daycare and nursery centers themed around the program. The goal was to leverage the anticipated surge in demand for child care during that era. However, the expected boom never happened, and the daycare franchises failed. As one newspaper headline bluntly stated, “Expected Romper Room Boom Fails.”

6. Hasbro took on Barbie in a fierce rivalry.

Hasbro and Mattel, long seen as the giants of the toy industry, have been competitors for decades. (They’ve also been the subject of persistent merger rumors.) Hasbro was particularly frustrated by Mattel’s dominance in the doll market, thanks to Barbie, which controlled about 90 percent of the fashion doll market. In the 1980s, Hasbro attempted to compete with Mattel twice, first with the 1986 launch of Jem and the Holograms, complete with a cartoon series. While the rocker dolls sold 5 million units initially, sales dropped quickly. A Hasbro executive blamed Jem’s height—1 inch taller than Barbie—which prevented kids from sharing clothes between the dolls.

A second effort, 1988’s Maxie, was designed to mirror Barbie’s California style and size. However, she also failed to gain traction, as did Sindy, a UK doll that sparked legal action from Mattel due to claims it looked too much like Barbie.

7. Hasbro created a Teddy Roosevelt action figure.

In the 1990s, Hasbro broadened its G.I. Joe collection to include collectible figures of historical figures like George Washington and Buzz Aldrin. (The figures were 12 inches tall, paying tribute to the original Joe size.) Among these, the most striking was the figure of the 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, who was outfitted in his Rough Riders uniform.

8. Hasbro faced backlash over a phallic-shaped cake accessory.

In 2014, Hasbro found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons when customers pointed out that a Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Cake Mountain Playset included an oddly shaped extruder. The tool, designed to mold Play-Doh for cake decoration, was criticized for resembling a penis. This led to headlines such as “Play-Doh Toy Mistakenly Looks Like a Penis” and “Play-Doh to Redesign Controversial Toy.”

“We’ve received feedback about the extruder tool in the Play-Doh Cake Mountain playset and are updating future products with a new design,” Hasbro stated diplomatically. They also offered replacements for the tool.

9. Hasbro once had ownership of Death Row Records.

Hasbro boasts a remarkably varied portfolio. Beyond My Little Pony, the company once held ownership of Death Row Records, the iconic rap label established by Suge Knight, Dr. Dre, Dick Griffey, and the D.O.C. This acquisition stemmed from Hasbro’s 2019 buyout of eOne, a major entertainment firm, for $4 billion. (Hasbro’s focus wasn’t on the rap industry: eOne also included family-friendly franchises like Peppa Pig.) In 2021, Hasbro divested eOne Music to Blackstone, which later transferred ownership to Snoop Dogg in 2022.

10. Hasbro secured a trademark for Play-Doh’s iconic scent.

Opening a can of Play-Doh evokes a nostalgic sensation—one so significant that Hasbro secured a patent for it. In 2018, the company revealed it had trademarked the unique scent of the modeling compound, describing it as a “sweet, mildly musky, vanilla-like aroma, with subtle hints of cherry and the earthy fragrance of salted, wheat-based dough.” Most importantly, it’s completely skin-friendly.