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Even Hello Kitty's guts are sickeningly cute

By bioephemera on October 18, 2009.
i-43ff8fbdc0d0b6542b600505686da1d2-dr-romanelli-hello-kitty-toys-front.jpg

Via Inventorspot: Hello Kitty goes anatomical, and we discover she even has bows on her guts. Yikes!

But seriously - the second, faux-ivory Hello Kitty looks a little familiar. According to Inventorspot,

you can choose from regular style or an interesting antiqued version with a finish resembling aged ivory. This style is meant to look like a netsuke; a polished and sculpted toggle worn by Japanese citizens and samurai on their kimono sashes from the 17th century on - robes have no pockets, y'see.

A netsuke? Sure. But to me, ivory + anatomy = anatomical teaching models like these. (see also my post on obstetric models). While most of the specimens I've seen were European, there were some similar models in Japan, although I don't know if they were fully dissected - like Hello Kitty.

That just sounds so disturbing, doesn't it?

Tags
biology
Conspicuous consumption
design
Frivolity
Medical Illustration and History
Science
Science in Advertising
Yikes!

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her heart has a nose.
What does she do when her heart has the sniffles?
Or a bad allergy attack?

Damn. Left_Wing_Fox beat me.

By Katherine (not verified) on 19 Oct 2009 #permalink

[guffaws @ Comrade Physio Prof.] Too right.

If she were a couple of inches high I could see why they would say netsuke. I agree she's more of anatomy model. She's got too much colour on her and not enough scrimshawed detail.