Birthday #2 this week is for someone who just gave birth

Happy birthday today to almeda, one of the coolest and most interesting people I know in both real life and LJ-land...who may be too busy caring for a brand-new baby to see this, but hey—you never know.

Happy 50th birthday, Barbara Millicent Roberts

...better known to her millions of fans simply as Barbie®. The original Renaissance woman, she's held down no less than 108 different jobs, from veterinarian to astronaut to presidential candidate. She's paraded around in everything from Jackie O's pillbox hat and suit to a Star Trek Starfleet uniform (the latter twice, as the upcoming 11th movie has occasioned a cross-promotion). She's been the bane of feminists, the darling of adult collectors (including my sister-in-law) and the envy of young girls everywhere since she first made her debut in a zebra-striped one-piece swimsuit on this very day in 1959 at New York's annual Toy Fair. And damn her perfectly-made-up eyes, she still doesn't look a day over 25!

The plastic doll that helped generations of girls...um, flesh out their fantasies of being grown-up women has just been released in a commemorative 50th-anniversary edition by her makers, Mattel Inc., as CNN reports here. You'd think her physically impossible proportions (somewhat toned down in recent years due to parental demand), high-heel-deformed feet and profligate shopping habits would by now have become as hopelessly dated and politically incorrect as Aunt Jemima...and you'd be entirely wrong. Despite the changing fortunes of time, the silicon siren remains Mattel's flagship product and cash cow, having spawned a doll-sized empire of cosmetics, DVDs, accessories and toys that is now even being sold at retail stores as far away as China. (Kind of a homecoming, since her parts are made there.)

Did you have any Barbie dolls and stuff as a child? Or know someone who did? What's your favorite Barbie joke? (Mine is "Barbie doesn't come with Ken; she comes with G.I. Joe and fakes it with Ken.")