09/20/2023
When the “Barbie” movie dominated the global box office this past summer (more than $1 billion worldwide), it reminded me of a unique moment from one of my trivia events that underscored the global impact that this little blond doll has had for so many.
Back in 2020, a small tech firm had asked my trivia company, Trivial Events, for a virtual team building activity for their employees. Usually, these events consist of a variety of regular trivia with some customized questions woven in. But this company wanted *all* customized questions about each of the attendees. And so I sent them my online questionnaire and got back 20 responses that included fun facts about each person.
About a week later, we all got on a Zoom call, with some joining from the East and West Coast, as well as Vancouver and even the Philippines. With almost every question, there was a story to go along with it; and then we got to this particular query:
Fill in the blank from Amaya* regarding her childhood: “I loved my ________ and wouldn't share them with anyone.”
A. Barbies
B. Toy cars
C. Books
D. Video games
After the question timer ran out, Amaya revealed the answer to everyone: It was, indeed, her beloved Barbie dolls that she wouldn’t share during her upbringing in Iran. This small detail then prompted several other participants to share their own memories of the classic doll, including two of her colleagues who admitted that they had dismantled their respective Barbies' heads or chopped off their doll’s hair. “You’re the reason,” one colleague said with a laugh, “why Amaya never shared her dolls!”
But, it was a Barbie story from Amaya’s co-worker Jana, who is from Kosovo, that stood out for the way it showed a commonality across countries and cultures. Jana began to tell everyone about one day in 1999, in her war-torn country, when an unexpected knock on their door forced her entire family into immediate evacuation. As they were rushing around to leave, she frantically told her mother, “Wait a minute, I have to go upstairs and get the Barbie house because I can’t leave without it!” But they would have to. "We're leaving our home,” her mother had to tell her, “we have to get out!” Nonetheless, Jana concluded her tale with a nostalgic smile, adding that whenever this anecdote comes up with her family — even though it was a dire situation — they all can’t help but laugh when they think of the priorities of a young child.
It was just such a cool interaction to be a part of. Here was a woman from Kosovo, bonding with her colleague, who grew up in Iran, over their “similar obsession” (as Jana put it), with Barbies.
The goal of a trivia event like this is to encourage conversation and engagement, but you don’t expect a straightforward question like “What were your childhood hobbies?” to lead to such a definitive “what a small world” moment. And *that* is not so “trivial” at all. 😀
* Names have been changed
