ETCH A SKETCH DAY

As a young child back in the 60s, I had an Etch A Sketch. I loved playing with it! Who knew that someday there would be an Etch A Sketch Day?

Manufactured back then by the Ohio Art Company, 600,000 units were sold in 1960 after its debut on July 12, 1960. The selling price – $2.99. It was invented by André Cassagnes of France.

The toy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame and is included in the Toy Industry Association’s Century of Toys List which commemorates the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th century.The 57th anniversary of the toy was observed on July 12, 2017 which is Etch A Sketch Day. Spin Master, who now owns the toy, honored the day the first Etch A Sketch was sold by setting a brand new Guinness World Record for the Most People Drawing on an Etch A Sketch Globally at the same time.

Fans were encouraged to upload a video of themselves shaking the toy with the hashtag #ShakeYourEtch. Each video counted as a shake on the global shake counter hosted on EtchASketch.com.

Etch A Sketch Day was celebrated by fans in New York City at Times Square with Christoph Brown (The Amazing Etch Man), one of the world’s leading Etch A Sketch artists, showcasing his artistic abilities.

There are other artists who have mastered the Etch A Sketch that deserve a mention. I’ve linked them up to their sites so you can see their work:

• Jeff Gagliardi
• Jane Labowitch
• Kevin E. Davis

I came across a site by Jennifer Dewalt where she says she made one website a day, every day, for 180 days. Check out her project and the 180 sites. On day 52 she made an online version of the Etch A Sketch. Try it out, it’s fun!

There is now an app! Yes, the Etch A Sketch IT! is now available from Spin Master in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Look at my Etch A Sketch IT!