The inventor of the Etch A Sketch has died in France. Andre Cassagnes died in Paris at the age of 86. A cause of death wasn't revealed. The Etch a Sketch has entertained generations of children who "drew on, shook up and started over."
Cassagnes came up with the Etch A Sketch idea in the late 50s when he peeled a translucent decal from a light switch plate and found pencil mark images transferred to the opposite face.
Ohio Art saw his idea at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 1959. The toy was launched in 1960 and became the top seller that holiday season. More than 100 million have been sold worldwide since.
The toy has since been passed over for video games, but it has a steady market. It got a big jump in sales after Etch A Sketch was featured in the first two "Toy Story" movies.
