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On March 9, 1959, Barbie Millicent Roberts was born in the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin to George and Margaret Roberts. Today, she is 51 years old! We all know her as a world-wide icon, but I’m sure these are a few things that you didn’t know about her:
- Barbie's first career was a teenage fashion model.
- Placed head to toe, Barbie and her family members sold since 1959 would circle the earth more than seven times.
- The first Black and Hispanic Barbies were introduced in 1980.
- Barbie has five sisters: Skipper, Tutti, Stacie, Kelly and Krissy.
- Every two seconds, Barbie is sold somewhere in the world.
After graduating from Willows High School, Barbie has worked in the military, medicine, politics, public service, science and transportation. Last year, Barbie’s fans voted for her 126th career move--computer engineering. There is a huge gap in women that pursue engineering as opposed to men. According to the Society of Women Engineers, in 2002, approximately 50,000 engineering degrees were awarded to men, as opposed to 11,000 awarded to women. Women engineers are hoping that having Barbie as an ambassador will inspire more girls to want to become engineers.
Mattel designers worked with real women engineers as well as the National Academy of Engineering to ensure that Barbie’s image was like that of a real engineer. She wears a binary code t-shirt, a smartphone (hopefully a low-radiation Blackberry), Bluetooth headset, laptop bag and a pink laptop.
Mattel designers worked with real women engineers as well as the National Academy of Engineering to ensure that Barbie’s image was like that of a real engineer. She wears a binary code t-shirt, a smartphone (hopefully a low-radiation Blackberry), Bluetooth headset, laptop bag and a pink laptop.
Barbie has inspired girls for generations to aim high and become whatever they desire. According to Nora Lin, the President of the Society of Women Engineers, “All the girls who imagine their futures through Barbie will learn that engineers — like girls — are free to explore infinite possibilities, limited only by their imagination. As a computer engineer, Barbie will show girls that women can turn their ideas into realities that have a direct and positive impact on people’s everyday lives in this exciting and rewarding career.”
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