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This Happened - March 9: Barbie's Debut

The Barbie doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on this day in 1959.

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What inspired the creation of the Barbie doll?

Ruth Handler was inspired to create the Barbie doll after watching her daughter play with paper dolls and imagining a three-dimensional version that would allow girls to role-play and imagine different careers and lifestyles.

What was the initial reaction to the Barbie doll?

The initial reaction to the Barbie doll was mixed, with some critics expressing concerns that it promoted unrealistic beauty standards and limited girls' imaginations to traditional gender roles. However, the doll quickly became popular among young girls and has since become an iconic toy and cultural phenomenon.

How has the Barbie doll evolved over the years?

The doll has been redesigned to include different skin tones, body shapes, and career options, and has also been used to promote diversity and social causes. The doll has also had a significant impact on popular culture, inspiring countless books, movies, and songs, as well as becoming a symbol of girlhood and feminine identity. It has been a subject of controversy and debate, with some arguing that it reinforces harmful stereotypes and others celebrating its ability to empower girls and promote creativity and imagination.

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food / travel

Pasta v. Fascists: How Italy's Staple Dish Became A Symbol Of Resistance

Pasta may not be considered controversial today, but it played an important role during Italy's fascist years, particularly in one family's celebration of community and liberation.

Photo of the Cervi family.

Photo of the Cervi family, whose seven children were shot by the Fascists on December 28, 1943, at the Reggio Emilia shooting range.

@comunisti_alla_ribalta via Instagram
Jacopo Fontaneto

ROME — Eighty years ago — on July 25, 1943 — the vote of no confidence by the Grand Council of Fascism, leading to Benito Mussolini's arrest, set off widespread celebrations. In Campegine, a small village in the Emilian province, the Cervi family celebrated in their own way: they brought 380 kilograms of pasta in milk cans to the town square and offered it to all the inhabitants of the village.

The pasta was strictly plain: macaroni dressed with butter and cheese, seen as more of a "festive dish" in that period of deprivation. As soon as the Cervi brothers learned about the arrest of Mussolini, they procured flour, borrowed butter and cheese from the dairy, and prepared kilos and kilos of pasta. They then loaded it onto a cart to distribute it to their fellow villagers. Pastasciutta (dry pasta) specifically regards dishes with noodles that are plated "dry", not in broth. That would disqualify soup, risotto, ravioli...

Even though pastasciutta is the most stereotypical type of pasta today, it had a complicated relationship with the government during Italy's fascist years.

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