Babs is 50!

I admit it. It's a deep dark secret, hardly ever acknowledged. Yes, I was a fan of Barbie. Loved the doll, loved the clothes. Had several Barbies and hated to give them up when I got too old to be playing with dolls.

Today is Barbie's 50th birthday (and my sister-in-law Esther).

Despite all of the bad raps she's received over the years, she's still hanging in there. As the Inky notes, Barbie at 50: Still giving them something to talk about:

The rap on Barbie has never been pretty.

Born 50 years ago today - happy birthday, doll - Barbie's been accused of a lot of things, from being politically incorrect to being groaningly politically correct - and has survived innumerable bad haircuts and senseless beheadings - and she's emerged remarkably unscathed.

And here's the original Barbie commercial which previewed in 1959, played during the Mickie Mouse Club:



And finally, if you think you're a Barbie pro, you can test your Barbie-Q, see The Barbie doll remains forever young at 50.