While on a trip to Europe, Barbara, the daughter of Ruth Handler, drew her attention towards Bild Lilli, a plastic doll based on a flirtatious comic strip character published in the West German newspaper Bild Zeitung in 1952. A 3D version of the character was created by Greiner & Hausser Gmbh a year later and sold as an adult novelty toy. It was mainly available at bars, tobacco kiosks, and adult toy stores and was often given as a gag gift at bachelor parties or hung from car rearview mirrors. Soon, the doll became popular among children as well. Ruth was convinced that a doll with adult proportions would inspire girls in the same way that action figures of firefighters and soldiers encourage boys, using Lilli as the model for the Barbie doll launched in 1959 in the US.