It's a Barbie World

If you were a little girl (or maybe a little boy) Barbie has played a pivotal role in your childhood. The hair, the fashion, the dream home... Barbie would have been the centre of your world, igniting your imagination and encouraging you to follow your dreams.

"You can be anything!" Barbie herself said when she made an appearance at the Dubai Mall last Tuesday for Babyshop's fashion show. She strutted her stuff for her legions of fans and then whisked five little winners for a trip up the Burj Khalifa.

"I'm just so happy that I can inspire so many young girls to follow their dreams," Barbie said addressing the crowd, "You can be anything you want to be. If that means being driven around in a limousine or getting pampered all day long."

Hang on a minute. Are these the only two options that the next generation of girls have to aspire for? We took a moment to look up the history of Barbie and everything she stands for and found that despite what Barbie (well, the actress playing her) had to say at the Dubai Mall, the real Barbie's interesting (and funny) history should be inspiring to the millions of girls who adore her.

Barbie was created by Ruth Handler who was inspired by a German doll called Build Lilly. She saw the potential in the doll and when Toy manufacturing company Mattel acquired the rights to Build Lilly, Barbie was born. Ruth must have been one visionary business woman in the 50's.

Co-designed by an engineer and professional missile designer Jack Ryan who was also married to the super famous Zsa Zsa Gabor, could Barbie have been modelled after the Hungarian-born American actress and socialite?

Barbie debuted in 1959, which makes her almost 60! Obviously plastic doesn't age.

Like most boys, Ken was a little late on the scene. He emerged in the market two years after Barbie, in 1961.

Basically Barbie is queen of everything. There are around 50 nationalities of Barbie around the world. Also, two and half times more Barbies are sold every year than babies are born in the United States. In fact one Barbie is sold every 3 seconds!