Etch A Sketch, Classic Red Drawing Toy with Magic Screen, for Ages 3 and Up

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In France, its country of origin, Etch A Sketch was sold under the name of "Télécran", [14] rather than L'Écran Magique.

Etch A Sketch is a mechanical drawing toy invented by André Cassagnes of France and subsequently manufactured by the Ohio Art Company. [1] It is now owned by Spin Master of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. To erase their picture, an artist only needs to flip the toy and shake, redistributing the powder over the screen. Etch A Sketch of Mass Destruction?In 1998, the Etch A Sketch was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, cementing its place in history alongside inventions like the Slinky, the skateboard, and Silly Putty. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association ranked it as one of the 20th century’s hundred best toys. According to CNBC, more than 100 million Etch A Sketches have been sold since its introduction in 1960. 9. IT’S SOMETIMES TRANSFORMED INTO PERMANENT ART. a b "Etch A Sketch Creator Dies". Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013 . Retrieved 2 February 2013.

While the Etch A Sketch seems as American as apple pie, it’s actually a French invention. According to lore, an electrician named Andre Cassagnes was installing a light fixture in a factory during the 1950s. The factory produced an ornate embossed wall covering called Lincrusta. Aluminum powder used in the manufacturing process made its way onto a light-switch plate that Cassagnes was installing, and he noticed that when he made pencil marks on the plate’s translucent protective decal, they showed up on its other side. Turns out, Cassagnes’s pencil had raked a line through the metallic powder, displacing the particles that had clung to the decal thanks to an electrostatic charge. Observing this phenomenon inspired Cassagnes to create his own drawing toy using a plotter and aluminum powder. 2. CREDIT IS OFTEN GIVEN TO THE WRONG INVENTOR. The Etch A Sketch toy was invented in the late 1950s by André Cassagnes, [1] [5] [6] an electrician with Lincrusta Co, who named the toy L'Écran Magique (The Magic Screen). [2] In 1959, he took his drawing toy to the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. The Ohio Art Company saw it but had no interest in the toy. When Ohio Art saw the toy a second time, they decided to take a chance on the product. L'Écran Magique was soon renamed the Etch A Sketch and became the most popular drawing toy in the business. After a complex series of negotiations, the Ohio Art Company launched the toy in the United States in time for the 1960 Christmas season with the name "Etch A Sketch". Ohio Art supported the toy with a televised advertising campaign. [7] The toy initially used a plate-glass screen but was replaced with plastic for safety reasons. In 1995, the Etch A Sketch toy featured in the 1995 Pixar animated film “Toy Story.” It had a 12-second feature that was enough to give a significant sales boost. The production line had to work overtime to meet the demand. Some of the image captions in this section may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia guidelinesfor succinctness. Please improve this article if you can. ( June 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) André Cassagnes (September 23, 1926 – January 16, 2013) was a French inventor, electrical technician, toymaker, and kite designer. Cassagnes is best known as the inventor of the Etch A Sketch, a popular mechanical drawing toy manufactured since 2016 by Spin Master, formerly by the Ohio Art Company. [1]The Etch A Sketch was showcased at the 1959 Nuremberg Toy Fair, but toy companies didn’t want to pay a steep fee for the rights. Eventually, Ohio Art—who is said to have also passed on the Etch A Sketch—reconsidered and acquired the invention. 5. IT ALSO HAD A DIFFERENT NAME. This happened in New York at Rochester’s The Strong, which is a collections-based and interactive educational institution. It was also listed in the Century of Toys List by the Toy Association in 2003. There is no denying that this is a toy that has had a massive impression and will go down in history as one of the most memorable and successful toys of the 20th century. There have been more than 100 million units of this toy sold around the globe. Pretty impressive, right? Originally, the toy used a plate glass screen, which was criticized by safety advocates for being easily broken and a danger to children. [8] In November 1970, Consumers Union filed a petition with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, asking for emergency action under the 1969 Child Protection and Toy Safety Act. [9] The Food and Drug Administration responded that the toy had been redesigned, replacing the glass plate with plastic. [10]

Cassagnes was born outside Paris, France, on September 23, 1926. [1] His parents owned and operated a bakery, where he worked as a teenager. [1] An allergy to flour forced him to seek another line of work, [2] and he became an electrician for the Lincrusta Company, a French manufacturer which produced picture frame covers using an aluminum powder. [1] In 1993, Ohio launched a color Etch A Sketch. [7] Similar to the original Etch A Sketch, it used the traditional two-knob interface to draw, but also featured six colors. It also had the ability to produce a color copy of each picture drawn.As touched upon earlier, there have been a number of different improvements and changes made to the Etch a Sketch over the years. For example, one of the most significant was the introduction of the Color Etch a Sketch in 1993. The toy was originally marketed as the “Télécran" in France, but was later called the “L’Ecran Magique,” or Magic Screen. It was eventually re-named the Etch A Sketch by the Ohio Art Company. 6. IT WORKS AS A PLOTTER. Fuels commonly used in thermite include powdered aluminum, magnesium, calcium and boron. Common oxidizers are boron(III) oxide, silicon(IV) oxide, manganese(IV) oxide and iron(III) oxide.

Toy Industry Association Announces Its Century of Toys List". Business Wire. 21 January 2003 . Retrieved 5 March 2022. Seewer, John (24 December 1999). "Etch A Sketch's big screen break worth millions". The Bryan Times . Retrieved 7 November 2013.The Etch A Sketch toy was invented in the late 1950s by André Cassagnes, an electrician who branded the toy L’Écran Magique (The Magic Screen). In 1959, he took his drawing toy to the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany where The Ohio Art Company saw it and acquired it. The Ohio Art Company launched the toy in the United States in time for the Christmas season in 1960, marked Etch A Sketch. Over 600,000 units of the toy were sold during this time. However, it is the Spin Master company that owns the toy, and they are based in Canada’s Toronto area. Therefore, there is very much an international feel when it comes to this toy, as it comes from France, is owned in Canada, yet is manufactured in America. This is very much reflective of the fact that this toy has an international audience and is loved all around the world. Even if you didn’t grow up to become an artist, chances are you honed your childhood drawing skills on an Etch A Sketch. Here are 11 nostalgia-inducing facts about the classic toy, in honor of National Etch A Sketch Day. 1. IT’S A PRODUCT OF FRANCE. Thank you everyone: Hunter, officialfuel, RonM, AuntieQ18 and Zatsoc. I appreciate you all looking, loving and liking. Lao U.S. company sells Etch A Sketch to Toronto toy firm". The Canadian Press. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 12 February 2016.