Even Police Wear Hello Kitty

That's an odd punishment if you ask me. Members of the Thai police are now forced to wear Hello Kitty arm bands for showing up late to work, littering or illegal parking.

“This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor,” Pongpat Chayaphan, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok said. “Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It’s not something macho police officers want covering their biceps.”

This got me thinking, whatever happened to Hello Kitty? I know she was real big in the 1990s, but I haven't seen her in a while. Well, she is alive and well at Sanrio.com, where you can find almost anything adorned with Hello Kitty and her friends -including a VISA credit card.

According to wikipedia, Hello Kitty was featured in an ad campaign for Target. I don't remember this at all. While I am not a huge fan of hers, I can see how young girls like her. What gets me is the profile of her given on wikipedia.

• Height: That of five shiny apples
• Weight: That of three shiny apples
• Good at: Baking cookies, making pancakes for friends, Origami, bows, shopping for friends, shopping with friends, buying things, playing tennis

Who came up with that? Height of 5 apples, but weight of only 3. Not that little girls who wear hello kitty have any idea of her height and weight, as she is a cartoon, but is it necessarily to specify? And what about the things she's good at? Baking and shopping. How domestic and quaint.