As the world celebrated the 60th birthday of Barbie, a doll manufactured by the US toy company Mattel, on March 9, many of you may not know that Barbie dolls in the early years were actually produced by Mattel’s factory in what is now New Taipei City’s Taishan District. For three decades, between the 1960s and 1980s, its production line supported the local economy.
In recent years, Mattel has given Barbie a makeover with more diverse looks and body types, and the strategy has paid off. Today, 58 million Barbies are sold each year in more than 150 countries worldwide. Warner Bros will be making the first live-action film about the doll this year.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Hello Kitty will also appear in a film for the first time in its 45-year history, her creator Sanrio said last week. A US$6 billion (about NT$180 billion) industry has successfully been built around the mouthless cat since its debut. It is now found in over 130 countries on more than 50,000 authorized items every year.
Photo: Chou Hsiang-yun, Liberty Times
照片︰自由時報記者周湘芸
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
美國美泰兒玩具公司製造的芭比娃娃,於三月九日在全球歡慶六十歲。但許多人可能不知道早期的芭比娃娃,其實是該公司在現在的新北市泰山區的工廠生產的。在六○至八○年代間,其生產線支撐著當地經濟長達三十年。
近年來,美泰兒還為芭比進行了大改造,以呈現更多元化的樣貌和體態,此一策略也成功奏效。目前芭比在全球一百五十多個國家,每年熱銷五千八百萬個,華納兄弟公司今年還將拍攝芭比真人版電影。
而日本三麗鷗公司上週則宣布,旗下的Hello Kitty誕生四十五年以來,亦將首度進軍大銀幕。這隻無嘴貓出道後成功打造了六十億美元(約一千八百多億台幣)的玩偶王國,現在每年超過五萬件授權商品,在全球一百三十多個國家販售。
(台北時報張聖恩〉
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from