The Cabbage Patch Kids Riots

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor, National Zoo, Exhibits, National Museum, Zoo, Washington, African American History And Culture, Postal Museum, Exhibit, Society & Culture, American History, Pop Culture, History, Art19, Air And Space, Science, The Smithsonian, Tony Cohn, Museum, Smithsonian, History Of The World, Natural History, Dc

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 January 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1983, the Cabbage Patch Kids were released, causing widespread pandemonium in toy stores and in the media. How did a children's toy inspire such bad adult behavior? Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast explores the strange world of the Cabbage Patch Kids to figure out why they hit it so big. The answer involves butt tattoos, slightly grotesque faces, industrial innovations, an origin story in a cabbage patch, and serious accusations of copyright theft.

We’ll be back with new episodes of Sidedoor soon! If you enjoyed this episode, you can find more episodes of Decoder Ring at Slate.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	If the Cabot Patch Kids are really fascinating
0:02.4	for lots and lots of reasons,
0:04.1	but every time I think about this topic,
0:06.9	I'm like, oh, this is the one.
0:08.4	We're like, there is a whole other world.
0:11.8	Hey there, side door bowls.
0:13.2	We're hard at work producing new episodes of Side Door for you.
0:16.8	But while we're working on that, I have a treat.
0:21.2	Do you want to introduce yourself?
0:23.0	Sure, I'm Willa Pascon.
0:24.6	I'm the host of the site podcast Dakota Ring,
0:27.0	which is a show about cracking cultural mysteries.
0:30.7	Mysteries like the Cabot Patch Kid doll.
0:35.0	I am so excited to share this episode
0:36.7	of your show with Side Door listeners
0:39.9	because here at this Smithsonian,
0:42.0	we have teddy bears and puppets
0:44.7	and muppets and sesame street characters
0:46.5	and Barbie's galore and Raggedy N and GI Joe
0:49.2	and Cupid all and Patty play pal,
0:50.7	but we do not have a Cabot Patch Kid doll.
0:54.6	So thank you for telling this story
	...

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