This was the usual scene in a doll factory decades ago
Doll Factory – Dolls may receive polarizing reactions from different people as they can look adorable for some while for some, they can be terrifying.
Some people collect dolls of different sizes and appearances and at some point from different cultures. However, for some people seeing a doll would raise their heartbeats because they have pediophobia or the fear of dolls.
Over the years, different processes were used to make dolls. Back in the 1960s, there was a combination of the use of manual labor and machines.
Based on the article in Mental Floss, a video from the archives of the British Pathé showed how dolls can be on the thin line between being adorable and disconcerting sight. This documentary titled Doll’s Factory was released in 1968 and featured the Rosebud Mattel toy factory in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England.
The heads were modeled in plasticine and after the molding, mass production was started. The hair of the dolls was placed on the head through a machine and based on the latest hairstyle trend. After that, colors were added to the face through spray paint. The eyes were added through a machine also. Then, their outfits were made based on the latest fashion trends.
“A tape in the tum gets them talking and a power pack in the back gets them walking. The whole process has a chilling, macabre tinge! It’s almost horrific the way they pop in the doll’s eyes with workaday nonchalance,” the narrator said.
This video might not be creepy for many people but some can’t stand the sight of these dolls. Thalia Wheatley, a professor in the psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth University, explained why some people are afraid of dolls.
She said that when we look at other people we tend to “see whether this person has a mind you can connect with.” We tend to ask, “Is somebody home?” However, when looking at a doll, you recognize that it has a face but you can’t find consciousness under that. “There are these signals that are telling our brain this thing is alive. But we know it’s not alive. And that juxtaposition is really creepy,” she explained.