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Admit it, you were one of those girls who put Barbie in some compromising positions when you were younger. It turns out that's just part of the doll's history: A new book says that the man who helped design Barbie was "a 'full-blown '70s-style swinger" with "a manic need for sexual gratification'" (as the New York Post so delicately puts it).

In the soon-to-be-released book "Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel," author Jerry Oppenheimer spills secrets about the sex life of toy designer Jack Ryan (no, not the Tom Clancy protagonist portrayed by Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin onscreen).

Wild Life
According to one of Oppenheimer's sources, designer Ryan (left) would talk about creating his masterpiece in creepy detail: "It was like listening to somebody talk about a sexual episode, almost like listening to a sexual pervert."

The book alleges that Ryan patronized prostitutes, threw orgies and sought out women who looked like Barbie.

Not the First Claim
Ryan's strange psychodynamics with the doll will be no surprise to those who know their toy history. Ryan always seemed to want Barbie to walk the line between sexy and skanky, and when the prototypes of the doll came back from Japan, he filed off the nipples because, according to The Telegraph, "the Japanese had not understood the subtleties of western sexual iconography."

He also was so enamored with Barbie's pull-string talk boxes that he had some fitted into the stone lions at his Bel Air mansion.

The eponymous Ken doll isn't scandal-free, either. The toy was named after the son of a Mattel founder. According to Oppenheimer, the real-life Ken grew up "humiliated" by the link, and became a closeted gay man who died of complications relating to AIDS.

Click here to read about the surprising, sex-tinged inspiration for Barbie.




Trouble in Toyland

    Bratz Although the low-rise jeans-wearing dolls are meant for girls between the ages of 7 to 12-years-old, preschool girls have been toting these luscious-lipped curvaceous toys, causing an outrage among parents and toy watchdog groups. In 2006, a Harvard group, in collaboration with Dads and Daughters, pressured Hasbro to stop production on a Bratz line based on the super-sexy girl group Pussycat Dolls in 2006.

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    Barbie In 1989, the Barbie Liberation Organization took Mattel to task for their Teen-Talk Barbie, which intoned the infamous words, "Math is hard." To teach Mattel a lesson, they switched dozens of Teen-Talk Barbie voice boxes with those from Talking Duke G.I. Joe dolls.

    Getty Images

    Easy-Bake Oven A popular toy since the '50s, you'd think that Hasbro would've gotten he kinks out of the play oven by now. In July 2007 the toy company recalled the new version of the oven after more than 200 kids got their fingers stuck in the oven's door and 77 kids reported being burned from the device.

    AP

    Aqua Dots It's never a good idea to eat your toys, especially if they're Aqua Dots. In 2007, there were several cases of kids vomiting or falling into a coma after ingesting the beads. And, scientists found that the toy's coating contained a chemical that turns into the "date rape" drug Rohypnol after digestion. The arts and crafts beads were pulled off U.S. shelves immediately after the discovery.

    AP

    Scrabulous When RJ Softwares developed Scrabulous for the ultra-popular Facebook it attracted a half-million players daily, prompting Scrabble maker Hasbro to step in and slap the India-based company with a fat lawsuit. Hasbro claims that RJ Softwares stole "intelligent software" including the game's trademark name.

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    Super Columbine Massacre RPG When tragedy hits, it's usually a good idea to downplay it and let wounds heal--not create a video game about the disaster. Despite the negative reaction by the survivors and victims' families, the game is still available online.

    AP

    Tickle Me Elmo In 2006, love fo Tickle Me Elmo turned ugly at a Target in Tampa, Fla., when a man threatened another customer with his life. The guy told the shopper he had a gun and wasn't afraid to use it if he didn't get the Elmo doll. And it looks like Elmo isn't that innocent after all: That same year, some copies of the "Potty Time with Elmo" interactive book contained a button that said," Who wants to die?"

    AP

    Grand Theft Auto The game's in-your-face violence and sex has been highly scrutinized by parent groups. And controversy sparked when 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game contained sexually explicit mini-games that could be unlocked with a code. Versions of the game have already been banned in Thailand and Australia.

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    The SockObama In June 2008, the blogosphere fumed about a sock monkey doll made to look like Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. Although the doll may have been described as "firm but huggable," the doll's production was stopped after a couple of weeks after critics said the doll had racist undertones.

    nymag.com

    Furby No one's too sure exactly what a Furby is. However, in early 1999, The National Security Agency put employees under "Furby Alert" and requiring that employees keep their Furbies at home. It turns out the furry toy contains a computer chip that can potentially record classified information.

    AP



More Dark Secrets
The book alleges that Ryan was so obsessed with the dolls, he paid for his multiple wives and innumerable girlfriends (with whom he supposedly enjoyed cocaine and orgies in a "black fox fur"-lined dungeon) to have cosmetic surgery in order to more closely resemble them.

But even Zsa Zsa Gabor, whom he purportedly married due to her remarkably Barbie-like appearance, told Oppenheimer that she knew she'd made a mistake in marrying him when he tried to bribe a tour guide to fulfill his husbandly duties on their honeymoon. Ultimately, Ryan succumbed to the depression that had plagued him his entire life, and fatally shot himself in 1991.

Barbie's Many Looks
Barbie's come a long way from her tarted-up roots (she was allegedly based on a German sex doll popular in the 1950s). One of the latest Barbie collectibles coming out this month is the "Carol Burnett Show" Went With The Wind Doll. Yes, it's a Barbie. Of Carol Burnett.

Just browsing the Barbie Loves Pop Culture and Celebrity Doll galleries shows you that this girl is willing to be anything, and people are willing to buy whatever she's selling. The Lounge Kitties collection, however, looks like something Jack Ryan might have really liked.

Tell us: Did you give all your Barbies radical haircuts? What's the weirdest thing you dressed her in?

The Weirdest Hello Kitty Products

    Hello Kitty Pet Costume Cute? Creepy? So torn.

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    Hello Kitty Maxi Pads This product, along with the fourth horseman, portend the coming apocalypse.

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    Hello Kitty Lawnmower Any woman who purchases this has only herself to blame when she gets stuck mowing the lawn.

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    Hello Kitty Robot Maid Put this one in the "Who could have possibly wanted a Hello Kitty version of this product?" file.

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    Hello Kitty Tarot Cards Kitty predicts a future in which your friends are scared off by your creepy Hello Kitty collection.

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    Hello Kitty Sausage Is there anything more adorable than ground-up pig intestines?

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    Hello Kitty Microscope Scientists are currently working on a cure for Hello Kitty mania.

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    Hello Kitty Power Sander For building your Hello Kitty toolshed, natch.

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    Hello Kitty Marriage Certificate Luckily, Keroppi performs divorces.

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    Hello Kitty Diet Pills You'll be extra kawaii when you've got the shakes from this off-brand kitty speed.

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Fun Buys for Barbie Fans