Back in 1956, Ruth Handler, one of the Mattel founders saw a doll named Lili in a toy shop while shopping in Lucerne, Switzerland. She then went on to acquire the rights to Lili & named her Barbie, inspired from her own daughter Barbara Joyce. The Barbie doll made its debut at the New York Toy Fair in 1959. She was a teenage model dressed in a black & white striped bathing suit complete with sunglasses, high heels & gold-colored hoop earrings. She was 11 1/2 inches tall, weighing 11 ounces. She sold more than 350,000 within that year for US$ 3 each. Barbara Millicent Roberts is her full name & she was born on 9 March 1959, and a graduate of Willows High School in Willows, Wisconsin. In 1961 Barbie had a face-lift that resulted in curved eyebrows & blue eyes. In 1966, a black version of Barbie's cousin, Francie was introduced. Then in the '70s, she used to have 2 siblings called Todd & Tutti but they disappeared later. Now she has 4 sisters: Skipper, Stacie, Kelly & Krissy. Midge Hadley was her first friend. She had Barbie's figure but a wider, friendly face covered in freckles. She made her appearance in 1963. Her boyfriend Ken Carson was her only boyfriend for more than 40 years. They met on the set of a television commerical in 1961 & they have been inseparable ever since but after 43 years, in February 2004, they broke up. The separation was said to be party due to Ken's reluctance to get married. Anyhow, they will remain as friends. Ken was introduced in 1961, named after Ruth & Elliot Handler's son. Ken's baby brother is Tommy. New this year! Just in time for Christmas, BOI magazine was able to research some new styles of Barbie that have a "new, up-to-date" look. (LA, California) Mattel announces their new line of Barbie products, the Hacker Barbie. These new dolls will be released next month. The aim of these dolls is to revert the stereotype that women are numerophobic, computer-illiterate, and academically challenged. This new line of Barbie dolls comes equipped with Barbie's very own X-terminal and UNIX documentation as well as ORA's "In a Nutshell" series. The Barbie is robed in a dirty button-up shirt and a pair of worn-out jeans with Casio all-purpose watches and thick glasses that can set ants on fire. Pocket protectors and HP calculators optional. The new Barbie has the incredible ability to stare at the screen without blinking her eyes and to go without eating or drinking for 12 hours straight. Her vocabulary mainly consists of technical terms such as IP address, TCP/IP, kernel, NP-complete, and Alpha AXP's. "We are very excited about this product," said John Olson, Marketing Executive, "and we hope that the Hacker Barbie will offset the damage incurred by the mathophobic Barbie." A year ago, Mattel released Barbie dolls that say, "Math is hard," with condescending companion Ken. The Hacker Barbie's Ken is an incompetent consultant who frequently asks Barbie for help. The leading feminists are equally excited about this new line of Barbie dolls. Naomi Wolf says, "I believe that these new dolls will finally terminate the notion that women are inherently inferior when it comes to mathematics and the sciences. However, I feel that Ken's hierarchical superiority would simply reinforce the patriarchy and oppress the masses." Mattel made no comment. But this is not the only amazing Barbie of today that we have come across. For many years Barbie has been a role model to young boys and girls around the world on how they should look. Just think if reality could slap them in the face now, how would these Barbies influence you?

These Barbies that I think should be offered to So now before you shop for that little person in your life, there is more to a toy than meets the eye. Why not give a gift that will help teach tolerance and maybe help them to learn something.

Here are a few fun facts that you may or may not know about the queen of plastic.

Every second, two Barbie dolls are purchased somewhere in the world.

Placed head to toe, all the Barbie dolls sold since 1959 would circle the earth more than seven times.

Barbie's full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. She hails from Willows, Wisconsin-but she left her wallet in El Segundo, California, the home of the Mattel Corporation.

During Barbie's introductory year in 1959, Mattel sold 350,000 dolls.

Barbie is now a 1.9 billion dollar-per-year industry.

Barbie has had more than 75 careers, from registered nurse to rock star.

About one billion fashions have been produced for Barbie and her friends during the past four decades. The doll has had over a billion pairs of shoes in that time.

More than 100 million yards of fabric have gone into Barbie's outfits, making Mattel one of the largest apparel manufacturers in the world.

Barbie is marketed in more than 140 countries worldwide.

Barbie became a candidate for President in 1992.

She categorically denies that she ever had sexual relations with that man, Ken.