https://www.dailyedge.ie/barbie-3894507-Mar2018/

Barbie turns 61 today and nary a wrinkle is in sight!  Well played Barbie, well played.
I have family barbie History.  My now 36 year old daughter Sarah liked Barbie. (Her daughter Ella is a fan too)  My 30 year old daughter Dacotah wasn't really interested in dolls that much which is balanced out by the fact her younger sister, my 11 year old daughter Katelyn (The Gator), really REALLY loves Barbie!
Over the years probably close to 100 Barbie dolls have passed through the doors of my home and multiple Barbie doll houses..  Kate is getting close to the age of transitioning out of Barbie but she'll confess to being quite sad about that and still loves the imagination and fun that Barbie and all her  coordinated Barbie stuff inspires.
Barbie the fashion icon, manufactured by the American toy company Mattel, Inc. was  launched on March 9, 1959.  American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. Barbie was an instant success selling 300,000 dolls in the first year.
And Barbie is still doing pretty well for herself despite serious competition to the tune of  "58 million Barbies sold each year in more than 150 countries!  The doll was supposed to teach girls "that they had choices, that they could be anything. In 1959, it was a radical idea!"

The Daily Edge shares some random facts you may not know about Barbie.

Barbie is a nickname.  Barbie’s real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, and she’s named after the daughter of  Mattel’s co-founders, Ruth and Elliot Handler.

Barbie hails from the Midwest.  She’s a Wisconsin girl; born and bred and buttered in the fictional town of Willows.

 

Barbie is from a pretty whopper-sized family.  Her siblings names are Skipper, Stacie, Chelsea, Krissy, Kelly, Tutti, and Todd.

Barbie helped kickstart Mila Kunis career. The Ukranian-born actress started acting in Barbie commercials as a child.

Bettina Dorfmann is the world’s biggest Barbie fan.  This German woman owns a staggering 15,000 dolls.

Barbie remains one of the world’s most popular toys.   There are three Barbies sold every second around the world, and by her 50th birthday, one billion models had been sold.

Barbie made history in 1997.  She became the first doll to be marketed with a wheelchair.

 

The most expensive Barbie ever sold was auctioned off in 2010.  Created to raise money for cancer research, the diamond encrusted Barbie went for $302,500.

In 2003, Saudi Arabia banned Barbie for being a “symbol of decadence to the perverted West”.  In 2009, Mattel released a range of Barbies wearing burkas and hijabs.

With over 200 careers explored by Barbie, this dynamic doll offers something for every girl!

 

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