‘I started as a Barbie,’ she says

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/1847272

Barbara Oppenheimer - a retired Boston University professor and grandmother of five based in Newton, Massachusetts - has had quite the summer amid this year’s “Barbenheimer” frenzy.

In an interview with Slate, Oppenheimer revealed that numerous people thought she was joking when she would say her name outloud. The retiree recalled a specifically confusing moment during a recent vacation, saying: “When I checked in at the hotel, I said, ‘Barbie Oppenheimer!’ The guy said, ‘Are you pulling my leg?’”

  • cybervseas@lemmy.worldEnglish
    711·
    10 months ago

    Wow, she’s also a smart woman. I appreciate that the writers referred to her as Professor Oppenheimer in the article. It was a fun read, and much more thoughtful than I expect from The Independent.

  • Dasnap@lemmy.worldEnglish
    372·
    10 months ago

    I was in Bath a year back and had a good chuckle when I saw I was walking down Gay Street. The name is quite pleasant with the old meaning of the word but it’s obviously aged poorly. I tried to see if the house numbers went up to 69 but they unfortunately did not.

    That got me thinking, would a house’s address being ‘69 Gay Street’ cause its value to increase or decrease? The name itself would be hilarious but it could cause arguments whenever you needed to tell someone your address.

    “OK, who is this pizza for and where am I delivering it to?”

    “I’m Barbie Oppenheimer and I live at 69 Gay Street.”

    “…”

    hangs up

  • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.caEnglish
    241·
    10 months ago

    … is Barbie an actual name in the US?

    (Like I’ve never met a Beau or Hunter in Canada, I think y’all have different names.)

      • SokathHisEyesOpen@lemmy.mlEnglish
        22·
        10 months ago

        Barbie’s name is Barbara too. Ruth Handler, the inventor of Barbie named the doll after her daughter, Barbara.

    • loobkoob@kbin.social
      16·
      10 months ago

      I’m not from the US either so I can’t speak to how common a name it is. But Barbie is a diminutive of Barbara (and the dolls were actually named after the creator’s daughter, Barbara Handler). Barbara isn’t a particularly common name nowadays, so I doubt there are that many Barbies around. And it’s probably less common because of how strong the association of the name Barbie is with the brand these days, too.

      But it is a real name.

      • AppaYipYip@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        10 months ago

        Barbara is a relatively common name in the US. I’ve known at least 5 across various parts of the US and I have definitely met more. Most of them are in their 40s-60s so it seems to have died out in popularity. Although none of them have ever gone by “Barbie” as a nickname. All went by “Barb”. Unfortunately the doll has ruined that nickname for most.

    • NotSteve_@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      10 months ago

      Hah I grew up in small town Canada and I’ve definitely known a few Beaus and a few Hunters

    • SkaterBoi@lemmings.worldEnglish
      3·
      10 months ago

      Hunter was a common baby name in at least one Canadian province from 2013 to 2017, ranking as high as #9. Beau was the #16 boy name in that province just last year. Go to this page and search for Beau.

    • gmtom@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Yeah in the UK no one would every go by “Barbie” (even Barbara is super uncommon) and if you told them your name is Barbie that would just assume you are named after the doll.

  • Margot Robbie@lemm.eeEnglish
    141·
    10 months ago

    Oh, I get it now, so she’s the reason why people are watching my movie and Oppenheimer together.

    Now, we should find Isabelle Doomguy next!