Featured Image Credit: TODAY/ Leon Neal/Getty Images
Topics: Japan, Los Angeles, Cats, Viral
Emily Brown
Topics: Japan, Los Angeles, Cats, Viral
How much would your brain explode if you learned 'Hello Kitty' isn't actually a cat?
Is it a lot? Well, I've got news for you...
Despite literally being called 'Hello KITTY', it turns out the little white character we're all so familiar with is actually not a cat at all.
Sure, she might have whiskers and pointy ears poking out from behind that cute pink bow, but don't read into them too much.
The thing is, the only one who can really comment on what Hello Kitty is is the company behind her - Sanrio.
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First created in 1974, Hello Kitty began as a character who featured on a vinyl coin purse sold in Japan.
She's come a long way since then, and is now the inspiration for toys, accessories, clothes, games and TV shows.
Her increase in popularity across the globe means millions of people are familiar with the character, and many of us naively assumed her to be a cat.
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However, in 2014, curator Christine Yano shared the truth after working with Sanrio on an exhibit on Hello Kitty at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.
She wrote in her script about Hello Kitty being a cat - but when she gave it to Sanrio to check, she was corrected 'very firmly'.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Yano explained: "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."
Backing this argument, Yano continued: "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.”
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Sanrio offers more information about Hello Kitty's background in her official bio, which reveals that she's as 'tall as five apples, and as heavy as three'.
It continues: "Hello Kitty is a bright little girl with a heart of gold. She loves to bake cookies and play the piano, and dreams of one day becoming a pianist or maybe even a poet.
"She has a gift for music and English, and a soft spot for Mama’s apple pie. Hello Kitty and her twin sister Mimmy are the best of friends."
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I probably don't need to tell you that the revelation of Kitty not being a cat took people by surprise, but here are some of their responses, just in case:
"What?! [shocked face emoji] But... she has whiskers and pointy ears and her name is 'Kitty'? And her Sanrio friends are dogs and frogs and such? I cannot accept this!," one person wrote.
Another commented: "How dare you tell me she’s not a cat. THATS A DAMN CAT!"
Don't shoot the messenger!