How Barbie swapped high heels for flats: a scientific analysis
From frivolous fashionista to disputed feminist symbol, Barbie has come a long way since her debut in 1959. No wonder she's finally wearing sensible shoes.
A study has examined one of the more anatomically curious features of the world's most successful doll: her feet.
It found that over the decades Barbie has quietly kicked off her heels in favour of more pragmatic flats. Once perpetually poised on tiptoe, newer versions are now more likely to be planted firmly on the ground — literally, and perhaps metaphorically.
The study was inspired by Barbie, the 2023 film directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie. In one early scene, Barbie steps out of her shoes only for her feet to remain arched unnaturally in what podiatrists
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Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
I inherited a troublesome property in my aunt's will - it led to a bitter dispute but is now worth $6.4million
It's not your typical item to be left in a will from a loved one. Jill McClure inherited a theme park in North Carolina from her aunt Alaska Presley after she died in 2022. Ghost Town Village in Maggie Valley, a town outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, was once a tourist destination, but a tumultuous history had left the rides untouched for 15 years. The park has been riddled with bad luck from rides malfunctioning, being hit by a mudslide, closing down twice and attempting multiple unsuccessful re-openings in the past decade. After being locked in a legal battle for more than two years McClure has revealed that the park, that was recently appraised for $6.4million, finally has an interested buyer who plans to revitalize Ghost Town. McClure hasn't revealed the buyer's identity but said they were based in Florida and wanted to keep the western family-friendly theme of the park. 'It will be a totally different venue. They love country music, rodeos, convention-type events, festivals,' McClure told local ABC affiliate, WLOS. 'It's my intention to sell the park for something for entertainment that will help Maggie Valley's tourism industry. I don't want to see housing put all over the top of it,' McClure added. She said that the buyer's vision aligns with her late aunt's desire to help merchants and the people of Maggie Valley to make the area a buzzing tourist hub once again. Ghost Town has sat gathering dust for 15 years as the water line deteriorated and the rides were vandalized Sue Heise, who operates a store near the park, told WLOS that the news of a potential buyer was 'wonderful'. 'The tourism has been down. It will bring a lot of revenue into the town. I can't wait to hear the next edition of this,' she added. The community of Maggie Valley rejoiced on social media when news broke that a potential buyer was interested. 'I'm praying for this to happen and for our town Maggie Valley. 'I grew up with going to Ghost Town once a week being a season pass holder and working there a bit,' one comment read on the Ghost Town in the Sky Facebook group. 'I loved it and the waterside also go cart tracks we had. Maggie was thriving and so much wonderful memories which I pray to share with my grandchildren.' 'Absolutely loved that place and would really like to see it open again,' a second agreed. 'It's a great idea, everybody misses it just like it was no changes needed,' another added. Dismal history The park was fittingly named for its abandonment in recent years. Ghost Town has a long history of unfortunate events dating back to its inception in 1960, when Virginia businessman R.B. Coburn purchased Buck Mountain as the location of the park. It took $1million to construct the theme park, and Ghost Town became a fixture of the community throughout the '60s. However, the glory days of the North Carolina amusement park were short-lived as Ghost Town soon generated a reputation for being poorly maintained and operated. In 2002, the chairlift to the top of the mountain malfunctioned, leaving passengers stranded for hours in the rain. The failure was the last straw for Coburn, who decided to sell it later that year. The park rotted for years and filed for bankruptcy in 2009. The park's owner attempted to secure loans to reopen without any luck, until an anonymous donor put up the money. After years of abandonment, the park was a 'ghost town' no longer, and the public piled back onto Buck Mountain for the grand reopening. Unfortunately, the park's bad luck didn't end there as just one year later, the property's retaining walls gave way, resulting in a massive mudslide. A month after the shocking disaster, Ghost Town foreclosed and shuttered its doors once again. Presley bought the property in 2012 for $1.5million, but issues with the park's water line and years of neglect delayed. Then in 2014 water line problems prevented the park's opening, the Asheville Citizen Times reported at the time. Presley then placed the property into a limited liability corporation, Ghost Town in the Sky, and worked with the company to reopen the park. She died two years later and never got to see the reopening of the park. Frankie Wood was named managing member of Ghost Town in the Sky LLC, and McClure took over her aunt's share, The Mountaineer reported at the time. Legal woes Wood and McClure entered into a years-long legal battle over how the property's assets should be distributed. McClure's attorney alleged in a motion for summary judgment that Wood, 'member sits at the helm of the company like a parasite waiting for it to deteriorate further and further while he bears no risk'. Her attorney argued that McClure has been paying a bulk of the property taxes while receiving no income from the park for years Wood then died in 2024 after a construction accident, but his attorney, Russell McLean, told The Mountaineer, that the two had already 'buried the hatchet'. 'He said he realized the land deeded into the LLC is mine,' McClure told the publication. 'He never put any money into the LLC and in his deposition, he said he had no investors or prospective buyers. He asked me if I had prospective buyers, and I said people had expressed interest, but had no buyers.' After a long history of enthusiastic efforts, Ghost Town may finally once again see the light of day.
Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
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Justin Bieber spotted solo on coffee run after sparking fears over dramatic weight loss and mysterious injury
Justin Bieber was spotted on a coffee run on Saturday morning by himself. The Peaches singer, 31, was seen talking on his Bluetooth headset while driving through the streets of Los Angeles with his coffee in hand. Justin wore a light green beanie for the outing. Noticeably absent from his errand was his wife Hailey Bieber, 28, and son Jack Blues, 10 months. The Baby singer has been facing personal struggles in recent weeks, including a cryptic Instagram rant that many believe was aimed at his wife. The outing comes after he stepped out in Hollywood looking significantly thinner and wearing an unexplained knee brace on one leg. The pop star took to Instagram on Tuesday with a bizarre post to share his thoughts about telling other people what they do or do not 'deserve.' 'Telling other humans they deserve something is like raising someone else's kids,' he wrote in his latest post. 'Who are you to tell someone what someone should or shouldn't have?' He balked at 'the audacity' and slammed his fans' unsolicited opinions: 'That's not your place. God decides what we deserve.' In response to his post, fans flooded his comments section with messages voicing concern, calling out his 'hypocrisy' and urging him to 'take a social media break.' Many fans seemed to believe he was responding to recent fan comments telling his wife Hailey Bieber, 28, that she 'deserves better' after his 'disrespectful' posts towards her. This comes after fans criticized his 'Mother's Day sucks a**' post on his wife's first Mother's Day since they welcomed their first child, son Jack Blues Bieber, in August 2024. They also pointed out that he recently admitted he previously told Hailey that she would 'never' land a Vogue cover in a since-deleted caption meant to congratulate his wife on that same, recent accomplishment. He shared the post to his Instagram Story accompanied by Lil Tecca's song OWA OWA, in which he raps about pleasuring his partner and 'making it clear to his significant other that his time and presence should not be taken for granted,' per Genius. The Baby singer has been having personal problems of late, which he took out in a rant on Instagram that seemed to target his wife. One fan commented on the Peaches singer's post and wrote: 'Justin. You told Hailey she couldn't be on a cover of Vogue, isn't that telling her she can't have something?' 'Didn't you just tell this girl she couldn't be on Vogue,' another fan wrote. Similar comments flooded his post. One person asked him: 'Brother didn't you tell your wife she could never be on the cover of Vogue???' Another person added, 'Take a break from social media, Justin.' 'I think you should leave God out of this and grow up,' one Instagram user penned. 'God told me you need a social media break,' another fan commented. Justin's recent post comes amid concern about not only his marriage but his mental wellbeing regarding his increasingly bizarre behavior. After Hailey's Rhode beauty brand was acquired in a $1 billion deal last week, many fans started telling her to divorce Justin now that she has found fame and fortune on her own. Though many of the posts were apparent jokes, the couple have been entangled in rumors of marital woes while Justin has been on the receiving end of substantial backlash. The pair have been married nearly seven years after they tied the knot in 2018. Last year, they welcomed their first child together, son Jack Blues Bieber, who will turn one in August.
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Why Liz Hurley reigns supreme at 60 – from building a £50m business empire to her hilarious quip about Billy Ray romance
It started with a dress held together with safety pins. And three decades on, as she prepares to turn 60, Liz Hurley is still front-page news — and still redefining beauty rules for women. 18 18 On Tuesday, flanked by her latest love, Billy Ray Cyrus, 63, and her beloved lookalike son, Damian, 23, she will no doubt be blowing out her candles wearing a fabulous skimpy bikini – from her own multimillion pound Elizabeth Hurley Beach collection, of course. Decades before the It girls, influencers and YouTube fashionistas, there was Liz – the OG posh girl pin-up. 'I promise I didn't mean to steal the show' A woman responsible for white jeans, plunging necklines, leopard-print knickers, Jilly-Cooper -style high-octane romances, jet-set friends and an ability to pick herself up by her crystal-encrusted slingbacks and glide through any scandal with the grace of a swan. A woman who is never stuck for words and who, when asked on the red carpet what on earth she had in common with three-times-divorced Billy Ray (father of Miley Cyrus), quipped: 'Well, isn't it obvious? We have the same hair.' She originally met the country star on the set of the 2021 movie Christmas In Paradise, and Billy Ray – who is flying into the UK for her birthday celebrations – has described her as 'a great human being' who just makes him laugh. The OG posh girl pin-up As unlikely romances go, it's certainly compelling. Liz – or Elizabeth as she insists on being called today – and I go back a long way, before that Versace dress that catapulted her into global sex symbol status overnight, before the high-profile romances and break-ups or the paternity scandal surrounding Damian (more on these later). When I first met her at the 1988 launch of BBC drama Christabel – in which she was playing the title role – she was a little-known actress, who'd previously appeared in detective series Inspector Morse. The former dancer from a middle-class army family in Hampshire, Liz – sorry Elizabeth (she was a lot less grand back then) – was ambitious, smart, beautiful and a lot of fun, with a fruity sense of humour and an equally good-looking, up-and-coming actor boyfriend called Hugh Grant, who she'd met on the set of a Spanish movie the previous year. Elizabeth Hurley shares loved-up new video with Billy Ray Cyrus hinting at MARRIAGE after revealing secret romance In order to make it as an actress, she'd transformed from a rebel punk with a nose ring and pink, spiky hair into a classic English rose, all fresh-faced, dewy-skinned and with those sleek brunette locks. 'It's all about luck, timing, right place, right time, right look and a really great part to get that breakthrough,' the then 23 year old told me over several glasses of warm white wine. She wasn't totally wrong. Six years later, at the London premiere of Four Weddings And A Funeral in 1994, it was that low-cut, thigh-split, floor-length black dress that got everyone talking. She didn't even have a minor role in the movie, and was only there as a plus-one to Hugh. It's all about luck, timing, right place, right time, right look and a really great part to get that breakthrough Liz Hurley As blinding cameras flashed wherever she moved at the film's after-party in London's In & Out club, she laughed: 'I promise I didn't mean to steal the show!' But she did. Overnight, Liz Hurley became as big a star as her boyfriend, and certainly it's still the one thing everyone remembers about that night. Just shy of her 30th birthday, after a decade trying to make it as a serious actress, Liz got her chance to become a global star – and there was no way she was going to let it slip through her elegantly manicured fingers. 'What sets Liz apart is not actually her beauty but her brains,' says a friend who worked with her when she and Hugh set up the film company Simian Productions in 1994. 18 'She's smart. That Versace dress was her light-bulb moment. She immediately saw how she could make a great future for herself. It wasn't about her acting. It was about her. She was the brand, the product, the look. The English rose dripping with sex appeal. Or 'the Posh Totty' as her friends would joke. She never took herself too seriously, but she did realise she had something way beyond being an actress. 'Liz totally understands that beauty, style and fashion are so much more than how you look and what you wear. If you meet her at a party, she can talk about everything from the Kardashians to Sigmund Freud. Her taste in men is equally eclectic – she doesn't have a type, so her choices are always unexpected.' In her six decades, she's built an empire and is now worth over £50million. Eclectic taste in men As well as breaking Hollywood in iconic roles in Austin Powers, Gossip Girl and The Royals, she has a hugely successful bikini business (she is the flagship model) and has been the face and global ambassador for Estée Lauder for more than 30 years. She returns to our screens later this year on Channel 4's reality show The Inheritance, alongside Rob Rinder. Meanwhile, home is a £6million Georgian house in Herefordshire, where she lives with Damian and her black Labradors. There you'll find a beautifully kept English country garden (she is a keen gardener with a vast array of her own secateurs, shovels, hoes and pruning equipment), which is said to be one of the settings for her big 60th birthday celebrations. Figure defies gravity Best friends with Elton John and the Beckhams, she is godmother to Brooklyn and Romeo, plus Elton's sons Zachary and Elijah, as well as her close friend Patsy Kensit's son with Liam Gallagher, Lennon. Entering her seventh decade, she still looks insanely fabulous, with those glossy highlighted locks, the same dewy skin, expertly plucked brows and fresh, minimal make-up. Last year, she was voted by men's magazine Maxim as the World's Sexiest Woman – beating off women half her age including Sabrina Carpenter, as well as Margot Robbie, Jennifer Aniston, and Beyoncé – and celebrated her 59th birthday by showing off her perfect body in a bright-blue skimpy bikini. Her figure defies gravity – not that she'd ever admit to hours sweating in a gym. Three years after the birth of Damian, she told me during an interview that the best thing about motherhood was nibbling on kids' party foods. World's sexiest woman 'I've discovered a passion for pink fondant fancies and those chocolate mini rolls – oh, and egg mayonnaise sandwiches with the crusts cut off.' I had to laugh. Not that I'm cynical, but Mr Kipling just doesn't make exceedingly good bodies like that. But as much as Liz Hurley has redefined a carefully curated beauty look – think English aristocrat meets sexy Hollywood glamour – her life has not been without scandal, humiliation, disappointment and grief. The real measure of Liz's everlasting appeal is the grit and grace she has shown in the face of a series of highly public messy affairs, which have threatened to destroy her image. In fact, it was this that brought her and Billy Ray together. In April, he revealed Liz had reached out to him after his marriage to fellow singer Firerose (AKA Johanna Hodges) collapsed last year, amid tabloid reports of an ongoing feud with his daughter, and a disastrous performance of epic proportions at Donald Trump's inaugural ball. 'Hugh was always there for her. Their bond is truly remarkable' On The Ty Bentli Show in April, Billy Ray said: 'I felt like: 'Wow, can life get any harder? Can it get any tougher?' For me, at a certain point, it was like, you can't get knocked down any flatter than laying on your back when life is kicking you.' And at this moment, a friend reached out to say: 'I'm in your corner.'' There are few people who understand how hard it is to go through a public disgrace more than Liz Hurley. In 1995, a year after her triumphant breakthrough, her 'perfect relationship' with Hugh was destroyed after he was arrested following an incident with sex worker Divine Brown in Los Angeles. Giving the outward appearance she was unshaken by the scandal, which dominated the tabloids, Liz stood firmly by her partner's side, explaining afterwards on an American news show that that although she felt 'like I had been shot' when she heard the news, 'you don't kick someone when they're down.' Their relationship lasted for five more years before ending in 2000 after 13 years together. She still refers to Hugh as her 'closest friend', and their strong bond has baffled many and infuriated some. It was Hugh who stepped up after her brief relationship with multimillionaire Steve Bing in 2001 hit the skids. The businessman refused to acknowledge that Liz was pregnant with his child, until a DNA test proved it shortly after Damian's birth in 2002. Their acrimonious court battle and his initial refusal to be involved in his son's life was intensely difficult for Liz, and Hugh's advice and support according to friends was 'everything to her'. At the time, she had begun dating her future husband, Indian businessman Arun Nayar – who she would marry in 2007 – but, says one friend: 'Hugh knew exactly what it was like to be dragged through the mud in public. Liz had been by his side throughout the worst months of his life and he just knew what to say, what to do, and how to be there for her. 'She was pregnant, desperately sad that Steve was refusing to acknowledge the baby she was carrying – but there was Hugh, always there for her. Their bond is truly remarkable.' Hugh – along with Elton John, his partner, David Furnish, actor Denis Leary, multimillionaire Teddy Forstmann and aristocrat Henry Dent-Brocklehurst – is Damian's godfather ('Godfather Number One,' as friends describe him). He was there to lend support again when, in June 2020, Damian's estranged father jumped from the 27th floor of his luxury Los Angeles building and fell to his death. In the traumatic weeks that followed, Liz, as she had always done, showed grace under fire. Despite the conflict over Damian's parentage and the fact Bing did not include him in his will, she revealed that he had in fact sent a text to Damian on his 18th birthday and left a note for him before he took his life. 'Damian adores her, and she can't go a day without talking to him' She put up pics of her ex on Instagram, and told her 3 million followers that he was a 'sweet, kind man' and 'our time together was very happy'. Liz has never been one to dish the dirt – when her four-year marriage to Arun came to an end in 2011 and she began divorce proceedings citing his 'unreasonable behaviour', she never once hinted what that behaviour was. Three months after her divorce, she began dating Australian cricketer Shane Warne, and within the year they were engaged. Again, it seemed an unlikely match: the classic English beauty Liz with the hard-drinking, partying, bad boy. After two years, the relationship – which he described as 'the happiest of his life' – came to an end. 18 They remained close friends and when he died suddenly of a heart attack in Thailand in 2022, she spoke of her deep grief at his loss. In an interview last year, she said: 'It was appalling losing Shane, it was a terrible thing. And it's a sadness, you know, that stays with you a long time.' Elizabeth also acknowledged the impact on her son. 'I know as we get older we're going to experience more and more loss, but Damian as a young man has experienced probably more than most.' In tabloid terms, it may be Liz's latest romance that keeps her in the news, but those closest to her know that there is really only one man who will forever remain in her heart – her beloved film-producer son Damian. 'They are a unit,' says her friend. 'He adores her, she is his muse and she can't go a day without talking to him. They collaborate on everything, including her modelling shots for her bikini business. She has appeared in his films, they laugh together, cook together, go out together. He is completely her world. 'Her greatest sadness was he didn't get to have a father, which is why he has six godfathers, and Liz has always made sure that any man in her life knows he comes first. On her 60th birthday, of everything she has done, Damian remains her greatest achievement.' Like that dress fastened only with golden safety pins, Elizabeth Hurley has tenaciously held her world and her family together in the face of circumstances which could have floored a lesser mortal. At 60, she has emerged as a true woman of substance. Happy birthday, Elizabeth. The Ex Factor She may be loved-up with Billy Ray Cyrus, but there's been no end of drama when it comes to Liz's love life. Hugh Grant 18 The pair met when he was 27 and she was 22 on the set of 1987 movie Rowing With The Wind. They have remained firm friends ever since. Steve Bing 18 Liz dated The Polar Express producer for 18 months on and off in the early 2000s, before giving birth to their son Damian. Steve Nash The Canadian basketball player dated Liz briefly in 2001. At the time, a representative for Steve described the duo as having 'just vibed'. Arun Nayar 18 The actress and the Indian heir had not one but two wedding ceremonies in 2007. Three years later, Liz announced their divorce. Shane Warne 18 Liz and the Australian cricketer got engaged in 2011, but split in December 2013. After his death, she called him her 'beloved lionheart'. Justin Theroux Paparazzi pics with the actor sparked rumours of a relationship. However, Liz denied any romance between them. She's forever in fashion Ever since that Versace dress, Liz has barely put a foot wrong when it comes to her style choices Put a pin in it 18 It was the Versace gold safety-pin dress that catapulted the relatively unknown Liz into the limelight in 1994. Her gravity-defying outfit, which cost £3,000 at the time was, she said: 'The first incredibly expensive dress I'd ever put on in my life.' Pretty in pink Liz dazzled again in this hot-pink, sequin, maxi-dress she wore to the 1995 César Awards in Paris. Pared-back make-up and coiffed hair completed the look. Mellow yellow This vibrant yellow Versace blazer and matching skirt marked a very different look for Liz as she was unveiled as the new face of Estée Lauder in a £2million deal in March 1995 – a role she still holds 30 years on. Animal magic 18 All eyes were on Elizabeth when she flashed her leopard print knickers while wearing a red Versace dress with a thigh-high split to the wedding of millionaire film producer Henry Dent-Brocklehurst and model Lilikoi Maltese in 1998. All white on the night 18 Attending the Rocketman premiere in London in May 2019, the actress showed she was out of this world as she posed in a sequined white Versace suit paired with silver heels. Her marble-effect clutch bag added a pop of colour. Barely there 18 Stepping out at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March, Elizabeth showed off her incredible figure in a Celia Kritharioti form-fitting optical illusion gown that was covered in crystals and made it look like she wasn't wearing a dress at all. Beach babe The actress showed off her enviable figure in a skimpy red two-piece from her hugely successful Elizabeth Hurley Beach in a collection of shots taken in Baglioni, in the Maldives, last month. If we looked this good in a bikini at almost 60, we would too!
