Behold, the unexpected story of how oneman's observation that kids play withtheir food ended up a best-selling toy.Brooklyn-born inventor George Lernerspent his childhood making dolls for hissisters out of potatoes from the garden.Over time, that idea evolved into a toythat would allow kids to turn sturdystarches into dolls of their own.By the time Lerner began pitchingthe idea in 1949, however, potentialbusiness partners were skeptical.The idea of encouraging kids to "waste"perfectly good food by turning it intoa toy didn't sit well with some.In 1951, Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld,owners of what we now know as Hasbrosaw Lerner's idea and fell in love with it.In the 1960s, they adopted an includedplastic spud that could hold facialfeatures without sharp sticks.The plastic potato doubled in size in 1975in a move to reduce choking hazards,giving us the toy we know today