# I just got a truly disturbing piece of spam **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 23, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240 "2003-08-23T23:08:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/1 "2003-08-23T23:08:05Z")
It’s for a baby doll; the subject line is “It’s The Most Lifelike Baby Doll Ever.” And it IS realistic! There’s a picture and it looks exactly like a real baby! (Come to think of it, the picture probably is a real baby.) It’s extraordinarily creepy; here’s the text of the e-mail: > [@](#): > > A VINYL BABY DOLL SO TRULY REAL, > YOU’LL WANT TO SEND OUT BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS! > > Once you see her - cradle her in your arms - you’ll realize she’s the most incredibly lifelike baby doll you’ve ever seen! > > Master doll artist Linda Webb crafted “Emily” to be amazingly true to life. From her RealTouch™ vinyl skin, tiny fingernails and realistic creases, to the hand-applied hair and eyelashes - and the six FREE “birth annoucements” you can send - she’s so astonishingly real! > > An EXCLUSIVE achievement in doll artistry - a precious newborn you’ll cherish forever. Welcome her home today! It’s got some links and such as well, but I don’t really want to post the URL; send me an e-mail if you really want to see it, and I’ll forward it to you. Why would someone want a perfectly lifelike baby doll? All I can think of is infertile couples or single women. What a corrosively cynical way to make money. And who on Earth would send “birth announcements”? Eesh. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/2 "2003-08-23T23:32:48Z")
Why the link aversion? It’s just a (fairly expensive) baby doll. I guess I don’t really get the dame creepy vibe you do from the ad. If you want plausible deniability Jackalope just tell people to punch “A VINYL BABY DOLL SO TRULY REAL” into google and you’re there. She looks like Edward G. Robinson… nyaah ya mugs. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/3 "2003-08-23T23:41:43Z")
True. It’s not a porn link or anything. My aversion to posting a link was the same as my aversion to clicking a link in a spam message; I didn’t want to say “Hey! This is a working e-mail address!” Also I suspect any spammer of being the type of person who’ll put you in one of those endless pop-up loops. Anyway, here’s the (pop-up free) link, folks: [http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-43845.jsp](http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-43845.jsp) I’m creeped out by it because it looks so real; the extreme attention to lifelike detail implies to me that it’s not just for looking at, that it’s supposed to provide a “RealTouch™ vinyl” substitue for a real baby in some way. Also the subject line made me think it was for sex dolls, so I got a lot of creepy associations floating around when I saw it. Hmm, maybe it’s not that creepy after all. Maybe _I’m_ the creepy one… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/4 "2003-08-24T00:01:49Z")
Go do a google search for “realdoll.” You will be pleasantly surprised! ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/5 "2003-08-24T00:21:32Z")
oh dear god. That thing is hideous. Very realistic, but ‘life-like’? The poor thing is giving me flashbacks of Trainspotting. ::shudder:: ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/6 "2003-08-24T00:25:18Z")
From the site: > [@](#): > > “So True Real™”, in fact that you may want to send out birth announcements (six FREE “birth announcements” are included)! I’ll be in the corner shuddering with **XJETGIRLX**. ---
**Author:** ![paranormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3be4f8/32.png) [@paranormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paranormal)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/7 "2003-08-24T00:33:46Z")
a bit expensive, eh? (no im not canadian) ---
**Author:** ![Bugnorton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bugnorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bugnorton)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/8 "2003-08-24T01:04:21Z")
EWWW! I’m joining **Super Gnat** and **XJETGIRLX**. "Life"like is not how I would have described this poor little creature. ---
**Author:** ![d\_redguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@d\_redguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d_redguy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/9 "2003-08-24T01:16:30Z")
aww, man! I was ok until **XJETGIRL** mentioned Trainspotting, now I am going to have to join the shuddering corner club. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/10 "2003-08-24T01:28:22Z")
How lifelike is it, though? Sure, it _looks_ real. But does it pee? Does it projectile vomit? Does it cry? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/11 "2003-08-24T01:30:53Z")
I met a woman in the eighties that was selling a similar line of products “Tupperware party” style. The only thing that I found disturbing was that there were “preemie” models. As for the “regular” realistic baby dolls, I think that they’re significantly _less_ creepy than your run-of-the-mill mass produced infant dolls. ---
**Author:** ![Single\_Serving\_Friend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Single\_Serving\_Friend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Single_Serving_Friend)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/12 "2003-08-24T02:23:54Z")
**Jackass** hits new heights… Bash the baby should be able to entertain Mtv’s high-brow public for a couple of thousand reruns… Drug smugglers can use Linda Webb’s Loving Emily Doll ™ instead of actual baby’s. A great tool to improve their relatively damaged public image! Frustrated people unable to have children naturally or through legal adoption can vent their love, grieve and frustration through this doll-like proxy, which in its best enactment of a child would perform the piece: “dead baby, a still life” [sub]And I’m crossing my fingers that it’s not too lifelike to atract a very seriously sick kind of “the wrong people”…[/sub] Can anyone come up with a genuine use for these dolls for the general public? (Movie and entertainment purposes thereby excluded) Because the only things I come up with would better justify investing the money in some long-term psychiatric help. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/13 "2003-08-24T02:32:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Single Serving Friend \* > Can anyone come up with a genuine use for these dolls for the general public? (Movie and entertainment purposes thereby excluded) Because the only things I come up with would better justify investing the money in some long-term psychiatric help. \*\* Although the ad creeps me out a bit too, I can think of a legitimate purpose (other than yuppie parents who need a new way to over-indulge their children). Educational. Both those new-mother infant care classes, and the high school classes where kids are required to care for some baby-sized object for a period of time to get an idea about parenthood. Remember an episode of Frasier where Niles was carrying a 10 lb. bag of flour around to determine his potential as a father? This realistic baby doll would make it more believable. On the other hand, given that schools can’t even come up with the funds for text books these days, a $150 doll probably isn’t going to be high on their lists. ---
**Author:** ![Single\_Serving\_Friend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Single\_Serving\_Friend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Single_Serving_Friend)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/14 "2003-08-24T02:47:34Z")
You’re absolutly right **AvhHines**. I started typing a disclaimer right after I posted my above response but you captured all the highlights. I think the ‘normal’ use of dolls by children for reenacting their fantasies of parenthood is a good thing. A great teaching tool for parents and children alike, as the more ‘primitive’ versions have been for years. ---
**Author:** ![Shaolinrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Shaolinrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaolinrabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/15 "2003-08-24T03:10:49Z")
As long as the mouth doesn’t open and it has no functional orifaces, I think it’s ok. It _looks_ like the mouth doesn’t open. Ok, I lied, it’s still creepy. You _know_ someone’s out there doin’ it with one of those. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/16 "2003-08-24T05:49:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AvhHines \* > \*\*On the other hand, given that schools can’t even come up with the funds for text books these days, a $150 doll probably isn’t going to be high on their lists. \*\* Oh, I don’t know about that. Our public middle school has [these](http://www.realityworksinc.com/cms.asp?SID=36), and they run about $250 apiece (in bulk). They also keep kids from cheating and just stuffing their doll or sack of flour into a locker when the teacher isn’t looking. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/17 "2003-08-24T06:39:18Z")
You know what that thing reminds me of? [Anne Geddes](http://www.annegeddes.com/indexpages.cfm?links=AGspl_home) work. Or as a friend of mine refers to her “The chick that takes pictures of dead babies.” (Of course, I sent him the link.) There’s also a lady who takes pictures of _real_ dead babies and does some (not very convincing) Adobe tricks to make it look like the baby’s _alive_. (No links, I’m not _that_ cruel.) All I gotta say is “Yuck!” That’s just freakin’ creepy. ---
**Author:** ![funions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/34f0e0/32.png) [@funions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funions)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/18 "2003-08-24T07:19:13Z")
My guess is that young single men use them to pick up the hot babes at the mall. It’s gotta be cheaper than renting a real baby. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/19 "2003-08-24T09:34:20Z")
It’s not _that_ creepy. A lot of people (likely with too much time and money) collect dolls, and I’m sure some specialize in baby dolls. A really lifelike one would a good addition to a collection that is bound to be a bit repetative. Then again, just think about how much fun this would be. Keep one in your trunk for when you are putting away groceries in public! Carry it around, and then suddenly drop it. And, not that I’d ever think of something this terrible, but some sick individuals might be tempted to leave it on doorsteps, in bathroom stalls, clothing racks in stores, the front window… ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240/20 "2003-08-24T14:52:37Z")
You know what;s creepy? My mother took a class a few years ago where she learned how to make dolls. They heard about this sort of thing, the vinyl, life-like baby… and were told that they can be built with a warming unit that makes a heartbeat sound. THAT… seems very creepy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-got-a-truly-disturbing-piece-of-spam/197240.md?page=2)