Dark truth behind Cabbage Patch Kids may ruin your childhood
Whether you grew up with an adoring attachment to these supposedly sweet dolls, or fearing their rather unnerving facial expressions, there's one thing I'm sure we can agree on - Cabbage Patch Kids were a controversial child commodity.
If you can't recall ever setting your eyes of these moon-faced babies, the chances are that you're too young.
That's because they first landed on the children's toy scene all the way back in the 80s after being launched US brand Coleco Industries, sending mums and dads across the globe into a total frenzy.
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So much so, that a Wikipedia page about the 'Cabbage Patch riots' of 1983 actually exists, documenting customers turning on each other in high street stores in order to get their hands on the in-demand dolls.
Google it, I promise you, it's true!
Anyway, whether you were a Cabbage Patch collector or found the dolls as creepy as me, it's only recently that many parents have uncovered a rather disturbing truth about them.
That's because it wasn't just their soft bodies or (apparently?) lovable faces that made these dolls such a hit with parents.
No, no. The alleged 'USP' of the Cabbage Patch collection was the official ownership documentation that they came with - including birth certificates and adoption papers.
Because what's weirder than you're two-year-old carrying official authentication for how her favourite toy was birthed? You know?
The idea was formed by original owner Xavier Roberts, whose line of pinched-nose, close-eyed dolls was first and foremost called 'Little People'.
And apparently, that's because the wacky businessman wanted owners to see them as just that - little people, as opposed to dolls.
So much so, that he actually purchased a property in Cleveland, Georgia and set up the fictional 'birthplace' of his babies, which he alarmingly named the Babyland General Hospital.
Wait, wait. It gets weirder, because the alleged infant health facility still exists, attracting countless fans of the macabre year upon year.
Staff working at the toy store in its prime were referred to as doctors and nurses to add to the notion of the dolls being delivered.
That's isn't all, however.
According to a downright eerie fairytale of how the brand name idea came about - which is still listed on the toy firm's website - as a child, owner Xavier was reportedly approached while playing in the garden by a bee-bunny hybrid creature.
A young Xavier then claimed to have followed the 'adorable' critter to a field of cabbages where more 'bunnybees' were sprouting tiny babies out of the vegetables, as well as fully grown boy named Otis, who told him he needed to help all the new Cabbage Patch babies find their homes...
Honestly, at this point, are you surprised by this creepy storyline? Me neither...
Rhianna Benson