Interesting Facts

4th February 1789 - George Washington was elected the first president of the United States. (He was from Virginia, and was the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He was elected by all 69 presidential electors who cast their votes.) 1913 - Rosa Parks was born. 1959 Barbie was created, by Ruth Handler, who was one of the founders of the Mattel Company. Barbie was named after Ruth’s daughter. Later on, when the Ken doll was made, it was named after Ruth’s son.

Research from Washington and Lee University, in the US, suggests that dressing stereotypical girls toys - such as Barbie - in uniforms for stereotypically male fields - such as a firefighter or an astronaut - can influence whether girls view themselves as capable of working in those industries. (Firefighter and astronaut Barbie both exist.)

According to Mattel, around the world three Barbie dolls are sold every second. (That means 9 46,080,000, are sold each year, which makes $3.6 billion in annual sales.   In 1959, the year Barbie made her debut at the American International Toy Fair, 300,000 dolls were sold.)

In her virtual life Barbie has had 108 careers. (She's been an Olympic athlete, a Marine Corps sergeant, a dentist, an aerobics instructor, an astronaut and a rock star to name but a few. That's what you have to do in a recession though - be flexible.)

Is Barbie's 50th birthday. (I wonder when they'll bring out post menopausal Barbie.)

Barbie has five sisters, called Skipper, Tutti, Stacie, Kelly and Krissy. (None of them have the ludicrous measurements that Barbie has. In fact poor old Barbie is under pressure. Bratz, a new style of doll based on street fashion, are now outselling the 44-year-old, who had been queen of dolls ever since sales were first monitored a decade ago.) Listen to this week's round up:- powered by ODEO