Ruth Handler voluptuous figure. While the Handler family was vacationing in Europe, Ruth Handler saw the German Bild Lilli doll (which was not a children's toy, but rather an adult gag gift) in a Swiss shop and brought it home. The Lilli doll was a representation of the same concept Ruth had been trying to sell to other Mattel executives. Once home, she reworked the design of the doll and named her Barbie after the Handlers' daughter, Barbara. Barbie debuted at the New York toy fair on March 9, 1959, but was not an immediate success. When Disney introduced The Mickey Mouse
Clover (toy company) Clover (toy company) Clover was a Japanese toy company founded in 1973. It closed in 1983. Today it is mainly known as the sponsor of the original Gundam TV-series in 1979. As such, it was responsible for canceling the show early because it didn't sell enough toys. The show was mainly popular among older kids and young adults who didn't buy toys, and sales suffered as a result. Also Clovers designs were not based on the finished version of the show and thus were not very accurate. Gundam ended up being very popular after it was re-edited into a movie-trilogy