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Randy Cassingham's BlogHistorical Details and Author's Notes from This is True®
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Lolita Midsleeper Combi - Comments
Posted by Amanda, Montclair NJ on February 12, 2008:
Well, I'm somewhat relieved upon seeing it - I was thinking it would be intended to be sexy-looking. After all it's just a normal IKEA-sort-of-style kids' bed... with a terrible, unfortunate name.
Posted by Chuck, MD on February 12, 2008:
Just had to see what the fuss was about "Barbie Girl", so looked up a link to the video.
And the song wouldn't be complete without the lyrics:
Posted by Lynwood in Charleston SC on February 12, 2008:
Back in 1997 Mattel and Nabisco put out a black Barbie doll covered with Oreo references called "Oreo Fun Barbie". Because Oreo is a racial slur in the USA meaning "black on the outside and white on the inside" (implying that the black person so labeled is a traitor to their race) Mattel recalled the doll.
You have to wonder about executives that could approve such a thing. Obviously they are WAY out of touch with the popular culture that they are targeting with these products!
Scroll down about half way to see the doll:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie_doll
Click here to see this item for sale on EBay! As of this writing there is one available for about $40.
Posted by Kathryn, Richmond VA on February 12, 2008:
To be fair, the two questionable items I saw weren't specifically intended for children. Also, they weren't easily found by the American public--they were offered for sale via an online auction. But the combination of the branding and the fact that they were actually mass-produced (though for an overseas market) gave me pause...
1) "Hello Kitty" 9mm Pistol. A real, functioning gun. Cased in pink plastic and complete with its friendly Kitty on the grips.
2) "Hello Kitty" Dildo. Yep, you read that right. With the friendly Kitty in a (ahem) prominent position at the top.
Posted by Mark - Alberta on February 12, 2008:
I remember reading an article about a children's bed from Ikea that was pulled because it was named after a town in Sweden, but in German the name was a sexual slang word.
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That was the "Gutvik" bed. "Goot fick" is German for what you likely think it is. -rc
Posted by Phil, Gilford NH on February 12, 2008:
In recent years we've received a bunch of mail-order catalogs from assorted vendors (most of them fairly major names) touting outfits for kids as young as 9 and 10 that you'd expect to see worn by either a prostitute or maybe a slutty 18-year-old in a rebellious shock-the-parents phase. There's something wrong when we have headline kiddie-porn scandals, we have news stories about pedophiles trolling online trying to solicit sex from underage kids, and then you open the mailbox and here's Lillian Vernon trying to sell your 13-year-old a stripper costume for Halloween.
Posted by Andy, Greenville, PA on February 12, 2008:
How about "Chilly Bang Bang" fruit drink? It consisted of a fruit drink filled water pistol that the tykes are supposed to drink by putting the muzzle in the mouth and pulling the trigger!!
It is noteworthy that the product was on the shelves for only a VERY short time -- it was recalled by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
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Indeed an incredibly stupid thing to teach children. The shocking part was in the recall notice, the stated reason wasn't any sort of safety issue regarding the idea of a kid sticking a gun in his mouth, but rather that "The opening tab at the end of the gun barrel separates and is a small part which could be ingested by small children and cause choking." Incredible. -rc
Posted by Derek, Irvine, CA on February 13, 2008:
When you solicited comments for inappropriate items marketed for kids, I immediately remembered Dan Aykroyd's hilarious routines as Irwin Mainway on the original Saturday Night Live where he shilled toys for kids like bags of broken glass ("Bag O' Glass") and "Johnny Switchblade".
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Those were gags on late night TV. Fun to remember, but in a totally different class.... -rc
Posted by Jenni - Colorado on February 13, 2008:
At Christmas, underwear for adolescent girls was sold at Walmart that said "who needs credit cards... when you have santa". Walmart pulled them.
Posted by Denise, NC on February 14, 2008:
I know it's a British advert, and maybe I'm terribly American-centric, but I would have thought that the Amy Fischer "Long Island Lolita" story would have been infamous enough to make certain any Oprah-watching country would know about it.
As for inappropriate toys, how about the decidedly phallic-looking Dora Aquapet?
Read the article that everyone's commenting on, or post a comment about it.