“Mister Potato Head! Mister Potato Head! Back doors are not secrets!”
If you ever saw “War Games” in the early ’80s, you probably know that quote had nothing to do with the real MPH, but was one computer nerd insulting another as Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy looked on.
Actor Eddie Deezen might have been the ultimate geek, but he was a human being, not a tuber.
MPH came on the scene in 1952, but it was a much simpler toy. In fact, all it entailed was the accessories kids were supposed to plug in to create a face. Kids had to supply their own taters.
If that doesn’t say something about how plentiful food was in post-war America, it certainly had to leave Irish folks shaking their heads in disbelief.
Mr. Potato Guy was hardly the most popular toy of the Baby Boom years, but it had a following and managed to survive a lot longer than hula hoops or coonskin caps.
He even received something of a renaissance when Don Rickles voiced him in the “Toy Story” movies.
And he became controversial this year when the Hasbro toy company changed the name of the toy from Mr. Potato Head to just Potato Head. I’m not sure why. Maybe they thought they could save money if they didn’t have to provide a johnson for MPH. In addition, he is not an attractive spud. In the game of “‘Date,’ Marry, Kill,” I’m pretty sure that he could wind up killed close to 100 percent of the time, usually baked and served sour cream and chives.
Compared to him, Eddie Deezen looks like Brad Pitt.
The controversy is mostly about Republicans trying to stir people up and get their minds off the real issues.
I seriously doubt all that many kids have played with Mr. Potato Head since the second Reagan Administration. I would bet most young Republican males played with G.I. Joes back in the day, although Lindsey Graham had a collection of Barbies and Tucker Carlson’s favorite doll was Klaus Barbie.
Imagine my shock to learn there really was a Klaus Barbie doll.
I refuse to Google “Ted Bundy doll” for fear there actually is one.
I mean, they’re still making and selling Confederate memorabilia, so why shouldn’t someone be able to make money off our greatest serial killers?
It isn’t an easy segue from there to Dr. Seuss, but it is important to remember that here — as with Mr. Potato Head — it’s the companies that make them that are changing things. It isn’t the government or those “woke” people doing it. It’s the people who make money off them trying to keep their brands relevant.
I always thought that was an important part of American freedom.