Barbie’s gadgets

This collection of Barbie’s gadgets, of late 1980s vintage, could be yours for as little as eight quid. Among the cargo cult delights are a computer, a stereo, a popcorn maker, a TV with cassette player (always tuned the the Ballet Channel!), a cine camera and a broken toaster. [eBay]

1. [LB]

   I had a similar set as a kid; the Barbie home entertainment set came with a pink TV, pink cabinet stereo which presumably also had the VCR in it because you could insert small white VHS tapes into it (included), two pink floor speakers, a pink shoulder-mounted camcorder, and a tiny blue remote control. Also, tiny little record sleeves, even though the set didn’t include a turntable.

2. [HeatherB]

   I remember I used to have a Barbie washer/dryer and vac that really worked. Loved those crazy things.

3. [HeatherB]

   Oh! And I had the Barbie ice cream shop that also had a device where you could make your own ice cream. It tasted terrible!

4. [groksocket]

   Ah, I remember the popcorn maker and hair dryer! I think there was also a stand mixer, or perhaps I am mis-remembering some broken part of the popcorn maker.

5. [Charlie Stross]

   That’s not a cine camera, that’s a camcorder!

   You young whippersnappers obviously don’t remember back when you needed gorilla arms to haul a camcorder around because it ate full-sized VHS tapes and ran through a lead-acid battery pack in just half an hour …