Hello Kitty Is Not A Cat, And Water Is Not Wet

OK, one of those things is technically a lie. But it’s not the old sawhorse about whether water is wet. It turns out Helly Kitty isn’t a kitty-cat at all.

Image: Davidd

Hello Kitty is 40 years old this year, so by now she really should have got herself a proper job by now. You might think not, what with her being a cat, but as it turns out, she’s not a cat at all.

The LA Times reports that according to Christine R. Yano, an anthropologist who wrote a book last year about Sanrio’s biggest product, when she was preparing a US Museum show, there was one thing that Sanrio was very firm on.

“I was corrected — very firmly. That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty.”

I’m not sure what to make of this. Next thing you know, they’ll be telling me that Fat Cat is in fact some dude in a suit.

[LA Times]


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