Kickstart: 100 years of toys

A global company marking its 100th birthday this year is featuring some very familiar names in its celebration, among them Mr. Potato Head, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and Transformers.

And those are just some of the brands that Rhode Island-based Hasbro Inc. developed itself. More toy lines — among them Star Wars, Tonka, Nerf and Playskool — were acquired by Hasbro.

Hasbro is marking its anniversary at San Diego Comic-Con, July 20-23 in California. (With actors and writers skipping Comic-Con this year due to the ongoing strike against Hollywood producers, perhaps new toy introductions and events will get a little more spotlight.)

Hasbro was founded by Henry and Hillel Hassenfeld, taking its name from Hassenfeld Brothers Inc. It was known early on as maker of pencil boxes and school supplies but began making toy doctor and nurse kits in the 1930s. It moved into plastics in the 1940s, and in the 1950s — when it launched Mr. Potato Head — it was focused mostly on the toy industry. A decade later, with G.I. Joe, it established the action figure category. And, of course, Hasbro is offering a special G.I. Joe collectible at Comic-Con, featuring a spy character called Philip "Chuckles" Provost.

Plastics Hall of Fame member and recycling expert David Cornell died in October 2022 at the age of 76, but his work continues to make an impact.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report July 18 looking at how infrastructure projects in the U.S. could use more recycled plastics and the best ways to support investments in recovering plastics for these projects.

The 374-page report was prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation, PN's Steve Toloken writes, and is "one of the most comprehensive looks at recycled plastics use in infrastructure in the United States."

It is also dedicated to Cornell, who was a member of the committee.

"He was a pioneer in formulations and manufacturing processes to produce bottle-grade [PET] and a champion of plastics recycling," the report states. "His dedication to the committee's work was inspirational to all involved with the study."

Tarps play an important role in protecting the infield at Major League Baseball parks. But perhaps I never fully appreciated the work needed to handle them until I saw this video of the grounds crew at the Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds, on July 17.

When a rainstorm hit at the top of the eighth inning, the crew rushed to roll the tarp out. One man stumbled, but everyone else kept going, leaving him beneath the tarp to crawl out. Then when heavy winds hit before it was staked down, another crew member had to jump in to haul it back down.

Tarp wrestling isn't easy, it turns out. The sports equipment supplier Beacon Athletics notes on its website that a lightweight tarp big enough to cover a baseball infield weighs in at about 500 pounds. A high-quality PVC tarp can weigh more than a ton.