When i was a kid in the 1970s, my white-booted and mini-skirt wearing mother wouldn't buy me a barbie doll. While at the time i felt unloved, i now thank her. However, for all those like me (with uber-feminist mothers and a hidden lust for consumer toys), you might be interested to know that contemporary girls have a different fascination with barbie, but one that still recognizes her iconic position. They play with her, but not in the ways in which i thought i wanted to as a kid.

One of my favourite blogs, Techie Diva Girl's Guide to Gadgets has a story (and the great 'dead barbie' pix) on the ways in which little girls ceremonially and methodically destroy their barbie dolls. Research undertaken at the University of Bath (and reported by SkyNews) showed the strength of animosity towards poor old, middle aged barbie and the myriad (and gleeful) ways in which charming little girls (and boys) torture, dismember and destroy her. Fascinating stuff!