50 Things You Never Knew About Barbie
BARBIE is 50 this week and in honour of her Anorak has compiled 50 Things You Never Knew About Barbie.
1-25:
* Barbie suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and changes at least 25 times a day
* Barbie’s signature scent Polonium 211 triggered a law suit when Man at KGB introduced Londoners and the West to Polonium 210. The matter was settled out of court and the KGB has now agreed to kill people with a mixture of arsenic and Chanel No. 5.
* Prince Edward is patron of The Institute of Barbieology, from where he received an honorary doctorate. Other Doctors of Barbieology include Anthea Tuner, the actress Helen Worth, former President Chirac of France, Boy George and Dame Thora Hird.
* When held by the legs and pushed down the throat Barbie works as an excellent emetic for bullimics.
* Barbie denies being related to SS-Hauptsturmführer Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon. In Austria, the Barbie (Klaus) action figure continues to outsell Barbie by three to one.
* Barbie’s mother hails from Lower-Saxony, where her relatives still run a teddy bear outfitters.
* Ken was modelled on Sir Cliff Richard and Cliff still keeps his original full-size Ken in his loft at his Barbados villa.
* Barbie speaks with a slight lisp, the result of a childhood accident with a rotary mower. Ken was originally to be called Stephen, but the name was changed.
* Barbie is staunch Republican and voted in the US election for Barack Obama – “The best Republican candidate, Yaaaay.”
* Barbie was captain of her high school Wargaming Team, and can still spell out the words “PEACE IN OUR TIME” with pom poms and knee bends.
* Barbie scores 10 in Scrabble.
* Girls say that blonde Barbie is 3 times more fun than Brunette Barbie who is twice as much fun as Ginger Barbie, who is the “bubbliest”.
* Andy Warhol’s painting of Barbie was adapted from a self-portrait of the man walking though a revolving door.
* Barbie attended Willows High School, New York City, and lends her name to the canteen’s famous breadless cucumber sandwich.
* Barbie, who owns a lion and a zebra, was Peta’s poster girl in 1988, a contract that only ended when Gwyneth Paltrow undercut her fee.
* Barbie is banned from driving her jeep in Saudi Arabia. The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice states, “Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful.”
* Barbie is 5 feet 9 inches taller. Her vital statistics are 36-18-33, making her out as too “hippy” to be a member of Girls Aloud.
* In 1965 Slumber Party Barbie came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: “Don’t eat.” There was much controversy until the fold over cover was peeled back to reveal the full message, “Don’t eat food.”
* In 1997 Barbie came with a free Oreo cookie. Oreo Fun Barbie would share “America’s favorite cookie”. But because it was unspecified who she would shere it with, the biscuits remained uneaten and went stale.
* In May 1997 Mattel introduced Share a Smile Becky, post-surgery Barbie in a pink wheelchair. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in Tacoma, Washington with cerebral palsy, pointed out that the doll would not fit into the elevator of Barbie’s $100 Dream House. Mattle slimmed Barbie down a little and all was well.
* Barbie has never tried Crystal Meth.
* Barbie starred in Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story as the traffic singer, losing out to her protege Cher at the Oscars.
* Until 1987, Barbie believed a tomato was a vegetable. Then she undertook the No Fruit Diet, and was surprised to learn that it was a fruit and should thus be avoided, along with radishes.
* This year, Barbie has appeared on The 100 Best TV Tunes; The 100 Best TV Pauses; The 100 Best TVs and The 100 Best Welsh Language TV Shows.
* The British Barbie is a title that has been bestowed on Sindy, Twiggy, John Prescott and Barbara Windsor. although Prescott prefers to call Barbie the American Prezza.
Posted: 12th, March 2009 | In: Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
