30 years later and they still smell

I'm not talking about the Seattle Mariners, either. (A little weak Seattle humor, there, for you local people. To love a Seattle sports team--any Seattle sports team--is to have your heart broken. Repeatedly.)

Anyway, I am talking about my Strawberry Shortcake doll. Amazingly, she still smells faintly of fake strawberriness. And she has flat hands, which appear to make her more valuable to collectors. Not that I would sell such a thing.

Buying dolls at gas stations

Do they still sell collectible stuff at gas stations? I mean, beyond the constant new and exciting processed snack food products like Slim Jim Honey Jalapeno Cheddar Stixxs or Reese's Double Super White Nougat Caramel Peanut Fluffyballs.

I mean stuff like these dolls I excitedly collected in the mid-70s.  Each represented a nationality (Ireland, England, and Spain, above.) I can't find any info on these dolls online, so please let me know if you remember them or have some in your closet, too.

The doll that grows breasts. Really.

My Growing Up Skipper doll grows breasts.  Really.

If you rotate her left arm all the way around, tiny breasts pop out and her torso lengthens about a half inch. Rotate her arm the other way, and her breasts disappear and her body gets smaller again. At the time I got her, I remember being excited about her because she was "two dolls in one!"  I don't remember any enlightenment about the wonders of growing up or becoming a woman, though I imagine that was the intent.

Apparently, this version of Skipper was somewhat controversial at the time. Can you imagine the howling that would ensue if this were sold today, though? I imagine conservatives and the helicopter parents would be horrified.

Just for the record, she's the size of a Barbie and her breasts don't get any bigger than pencil erasers. In other words, she's not life-size. Sorry to disappoint.

Scary thing for kids #2,465: Baby Secret

I was definitely a girly-girl, and I had plenty of dolls. If you’re one of those people who think dolls are evil, skip this post. I mean it. Save yourself the nightmares.

Here is my Baby Secret doll, very yellowed by age. When you pull her string, she says several different things to you, including, "I know a secret--do you?" and "Don't talk so loud."

Here is the video clip of the commercial for Baby Secret. It says 1966, so I’m not sure why I grew up with this doll, having been born in 1969. But I remember cuddling with her at night, back when the whisper sounded sweet and comforting. Really.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY1xtnnMr2c&feature=player_embedded

Yeah, her lips move too. And after 40 years in my parents' garage, her voice sounds like those voices of “ghosts” you hear on the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventurers.” Did I mention she's creepy as hell?