Midge, the pregnant doll mocked in 'Barbie,' may have failed in the 1960s because she was friendlier and 'much more girl-next-doorish' than Barbie, Ruth Handler once said

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Emerald Fennell plays Midge in "Barbie."

Warner Bros.

Barbie's founder jokes in the 'Barbie' movie about getting in trouble with the IRS. Here's what actually happened.

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1959 Barbie doll; Mattel cofounder Ruth Handler

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Barbie owes her existence to a 1950s German comic strip

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Composite pictures of Barbie doll (left), Bild Lilli doll (right)
"The 'Lilli' doll was the embodiment of an idea I'd pitched to Elliot and our other Mattel toy designers some five years earlier," Handler wrote in her autobiography.

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Barbie's creator wanted Ken to have more of a 'bulge' — but Mattel refused to give the doll a prominent crotch

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Ken dolls over the years.
Ken dolls over the years.

Matthias Schrader/AP; Mattel, Inc.

Barbie and Ken, this summer's hottest couple, were actually named after a brother and sister

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Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in a scene from
Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie in "Barbie."

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