Roman
06-08-2010, 07:23 PM
So, I was listening to this podcast and they were talking about the origins of Barbie. I just thought that it was interesting.
So, there was a German "comic strip" with a character called Lilly. Eventually they made it into a doll. It wasn't for kids though. The character was sassy and sexy and the doll was marketed to adults, like a sort of gag gift bachelors might give to each other. Some call it a sex toy because of that!
This lead to the creation of Barbie after Ruth Handler of the U.S. Mattel corporation came across the doll in Switzerland and bought three for her daughters.
There are different accounts and descriptions of this doll, but here's one site talking about it: http://www.squidoo.com/Dolls_Bild-Lilli
So, there was a German "comic strip" with a character called Lilly. Eventually they made it into a doll. It wasn't for kids though. The character was sassy and sexy and the doll was marketed to adults, like a sort of gag gift bachelors might give to each other. Some call it a sex toy because of that!
This lead to the creation of Barbie after Ruth Handler of the U.S. Mattel corporation came across the doll in Switzerland and bought three for her daughters.
There are different accounts and descriptions of this doll, but here's one site talking about it: http://www.squidoo.com/Dolls_Bild-Lilli