Talk:Cabbage Patch Kids

Incorrect attribution of origin of the product.

The dolls were originally invented by a Kentucky artist named Martha Nelson Thomas. Xavier Roberts took her idea without permission. http://www.vice.com/video/the-secret-history-of-cabbage-patch-kids-011 A court case was filed in 1979, and went to trial in 1985. Ms Thomas settled for a small (undisclosed) sum. Cooljazz2 (talk) 21:57, 5 November 2015 (UTC)Cooljazz2

When I came to this article, it said both that Roberts designed the dolls independently and that he stole the design from Thomas. Both can't be true. It is true that Thomas alleged that Roberts stole her design. I'm not aware of any clear answer one way or the other, so I described both sides of the controversy, included a link to a source, and tried to harmonize the description so it would be internally consistent. I'm not a wiki-expert, so I hope I did this right!Lange17 (talk) 17:28, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

References

Origin and Etymology: complete nonsense?

Can someone who is familiar with the backstory for these dolls confirm whether this section is correct? Although I know nothing about the dolls' story, the edit on 02:15, 17 January 2008 by 69.180.1.60 appears to be complete nonsense. As it stands, the section is in need of a copyedit as well, but I suspect the whole edit should be reverted. --Jarsyl (talk) 01:53, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

The origin of the cabbage patch "legend" can easily be traced back to the 1951 Italian film Miracle in Milan, where the boy is found in the cabbage patch. It is probably much older and relates to foundlings. 50.196.158.93 (talk) 19:04, 28 December 2014 (UTC)

The birth certificates

Each came with a unique birth certificate signed by their creator, Xavier Roberts.

Did he really sign all the birth certificates? Did he use a signature machine? -- Toytoy 09:35, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

I think they mean 'imprinted with his signature'. They're not really 'signed' in any way. Also, the 2nd link listed as an 'unofficial' link is in fact a link to their official Babyland General site where the handmade style are sold. Peepe 03:46, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

I worked there at the time. The certs were preprinted forms, with software-generated "random" names printed via impact printer. (Actually it wasn't quite random, since the programmers were careful to avoid duplicate names; IIRC the year of "birth" was also printed on the cert, so names could be re-used every year. rewinn 06:37, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Toxic Vinyl

Later variants also featured a less toxic vinyl in the manufacture of their heads.

What is the source of this information? I can't find any mention of it via google.

Jorge1000xl 20:12, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

"Outie" bellybutton

In the unique qualities description section, could someone please add in the fact that all CPKs have an "outie" bellybutton (umbilical hernia)?

Production location

I deleted the production location of the mass-produced dolls, since it wasn't accurate and is scarecly notable. We imported basically from where-ever they were cheap to produce, mostly the Far East. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rewinn (talk • contribs) 17:59, 29 August 2006

No Two the Same

My primary recollection about Cabbage Patch Kids is that no two were the same -- yet this article does not refer tot he concept once. Was this true or was this a 'feature' of just one iteration, and not particularly a feature of the brand? Malak1000 (talk) 10:09, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

I think the "uniqueness" was overstated by the media at the time, touting that each was unique because of computer assisted design. Having every actual doll ever manufactured to be unique would be impractical on a mass scale, so I think there were "unique aspects" included in the package, like the birth certificate that had a name different and birthdate (so you could potentially make thousands of dolls exactly the same but have a unique name for those dolls). After names are exhausted, you could reuse the names again by changing the hair colour of the doll and still be able to call the doll unique. As said in a previous discussion, changing the date each year means you can start the cycle again every year. Doing this gives you a huge range of combinations. So they may well have been unique, but not to the extent the media would have sensationalised it to be. These are my opinions only and not based on sources. HuggaBounce (talk) 09:41, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Expansion

This article needs:

• Photos
• Variations, including Koosas
• Christmas rampages/violence attributed to trying to buy these toys in 1983.

Thanks,Chris Griswold (☎☓) 09:08, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

The article also needs to mention the computer games based on the Cabbage Patch Kids, e.g. this one: http://www.generation-msx.nl/msxdb/softwareinfo/140 for MSX and there is also one for Colecovision, of course. ManuelBilderbeek 08:18, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Selling

Some one who had a short position in the shares claimed that there was a surplus of dolls. He then claimed that he had sacked a secretary for impersonating an employee of the Wall Street Journal. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.137.170.8 (talk) 10:24, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

15th anniversary dolls

Does anyone know if the signature of the 15th anniversary doll is different? I know it is suppose to have the 15th anniversary logo but I have seem a signature that does not look at all like the others. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.205.217.20 (talk) 22:29, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Original hand-stitched creations (Little People) and mass produced versions (Cabbage Patch Dolls).

The opening paragraphs confused me as it seemed that the Cabbage Patch doll name was registered in 1978. It was not. The article makes plain that the original hand-stitched dolls were called 'Little People'. The name change came in 1982 when the dolls went into mass production. The opening paragraphs contradicted the later detail so I have inserted the correct information. In 2018, the dolls celebrated 40 years of the 'Little People' and 'Cabbage Dolls', not simply 'Cabbage Patch Dolls'.

(86.179.96.107 (talk) 00:37, 22 June 2019 (UTC))

Fad or Not

The article states "The doll brand was one of the most popular toy fads of the 1980s", then goes on to say "one of the longest-running doll franchises in the United States.". Surely it can't be a fad and long running?

Cabbage Kids or Cabbage Patch Kids?

The title doesn't quite agree with the content of the page. Which one is the correct name? Or were both used? Some details here would be nice. Paul Ebermann (talk) 00:12, 16 April 2023 (UTC)

if anyone is trying to suggest they are called "cabbage kids" then I suggest adding a "Mandela Effect" section to the article. 2600:6C46:4000:EA00:F9F1:8C34:2A72:BAF8 (talk) 16:13, 29 April 2023 (UTC)