Boredom Therapy

Barbie’s been around for a long time, and now she’s a movie star. The Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie film was a massive hit across all demographics, hailed for its feminist themes and impressive visuals. And it’s also got people talking about one overlooked aspect of the Barbie legacy. What about all the discontinued Barbies, Kens, and friends, the dolls too controversial or too dangerous to have remained on the shelves?

"Welcome to Fear City." That was the title of a pamphlet that welcomed tourists to New York in June 1975. The discomforting guidelines within warned travelers not to go out in the city after 6:00 p.m., not to go anyplace other than midtown Manhattan, and never, ever ride the subway.

Sidis had plenty of support, after all — at least when he was a child. Born in 1898 in New York, he was the son of parents who had both fled persecution. His mother Sarah had escaped a series of religious purges in Russia during the 1880s, while his father Boris had run from politically motivated oppression to settle in the U.S. But despite — or perhaps because of — their turbulent backgrounds, the couple had big dreams for their young son.