In order to raise funds for charity Save the Children, Italian artist Eliana Lorena has refashioned Mattel’s iconic doll Barbie and has given her a new, multicultural look.  Actually, Eliana has given Barbie about 500 new looks, as she has designed 500 dolls in different outfits in an attempt to reflect global diversity and raise money for various charities.  The lot is being put up for sale at Sotheby’s in Florence, Italy.

Not only is this a celebration of Save the Children, it’s also a celebration of Barbie’s 50th anniversary.  How strange is it that, for 50 years and for any number of redesigns, Barbie has been the only name on the world’s doll stage?  I mean, Barbie collectors are everywhere, from the office to museums.  My boss is a Barbie collector, and my mom has friends who also collect Barbie dolls.  I don’t know anyone who collects, say, Beanie Babies anymore.

Tags: dolls, Barbie, Barbie dolls, Burka Barbie, Muslim Barbie, art exhibits, Mattel, Eliana Lorena, Save The Children

Tomorrow is the second Sunday in March, and you know what that means.  It’s time for everyone to be grumpy and miserable by missing an hour of much-needed sleep in the wee hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning (unless you live near the equator or in Arizona, where there is no daylight savings plan).  […]

The Hump is one of many trendy foodie outposts in environmentally-conscious Santa Monica, California.  However, a sting operation conducted by the producers of the Oscar-winning short “The Cove,” about the annual dolphin kill in Japan, revealed that The Hump’s airport location has been serving meat from an endangered animal in its sushi.  The Hump’s head […]

Charles L. Stewart’s religious practices are a bit strange.  He claims that, as part of his religion, he had to illegally import a dangerously invasive species of Giant African Snail so as to protect his followers from illnesses.  Stewart, from Hialeah, Florida, maintains that drinking the mucus from living snails is a common practice to […]

Sometimes it’s really, really hard not to make a Polish joke.  For example, when a Polish guy robs a bank with a spoon.  Or, in this case, when a Polish great-grandmother gets banned from riding her bicycle after biking around while drunk.  However, while the concept is funny, the penalty is not.   Keystyna Patycka, a […]

On the remote island of Svalbard, Norway, is the most genetically-diverse spot on planet Earth.  The island itself isn’t the most pleasant place; in fact, it’s a miserable, frozen rock above the Arctic Circle where the only wandering life is polar bears.  However, dug into the side of Platåberget Mountain is the Doomsday Vault.  Better […]

I’m not sure what to blame for this one.  The recession?  The fact that nobody uses cash anymore?  The fact that she robbed what sounds to me like a little bodega?  Take your pick.  Either way, a woman in Thermal, California went to a lot of effort for very little reward.  She used a semiautomatic […]

After one too many close calls with a screeching, honking car, Peter Smith had officially had enough.  Tired of eating dust and getting cursed at by angry drivers, the dedicated bicycle rider from Austin, Texas, started circulating a petition.  Over 2 years and 50,000 signatures later, and he finally achieved his dream:  Google Maps has […]