How cabbage patch kids caused riots in the 1980s

The concept of “little people” quickly attracted broader attention beyond rural Georgia. Babyland was even mentioned in the British Daily Express as early as 1980, albeit as “the kind of crazy scheme that would appeal to Americans.” However, as cynics might say, there is one born every minute, and the blockbuster commercial potential of this concept was discovered by Coleco Industries, a company known mainly for its electronic games such as the ColecoVision video game console. In 1982, the company licensed the dolls for mass release. In a brilliant marketing stroke, the little guys are now called Cabbage Patch Kids.

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As the media feeding frenzy grew, the BBC sent its correspondent Bob Friend to Babyland to visit “the somewhat more expensive brothers and sisters of the mass-produced version which has caused all the hysteria”. One of the nurses insisted: “They’re not dolls, they’re babies. They each have their own personality. They’re all individuals, just like us.” Hospital director Laura Meir was more frank. “Dollhouse is a four-letter word and we don’t use it,” she said. “You can go out and buy a doll that wets, cries and skates, but our babies don’t really do anything. They’re lifelike, cuddly, warm, and instead of entertaining you, babies need your imagination.”

The dolls proved so popular that they inspired the shocking bubblegum cards that became a phenomenon on the field. The Garbage Pail Kids was produced by the Topps trading card company and featured grotesque cartoons designed to delight children and terrify adults. One of the creators was Art Spiegelman, who later won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his graphic novel Maus. Characters included Adam Bomb, a doll-like figure with a mushroom cloud erupting from his head, and Potty Scotty, forever pinned to a toilet. The backs of the cards bore fictitious permission slips that gave children license to commit anti-social acts, from skipping homework to “lying when you think it’s necessary.”