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Childhood Ruined: Apparently Hello Kitty Is Supposed To Be A Human, Not A Cat

by Adam Matula

Get ready to be totally shocked. Even if you could care less about Hello Kitty, everyone in the world knows the popular fictional character and children’s toy is a cat, right?

Wrong. Christine R. Yano, an anthropologist at the University of Hawaii who is curating a Hello Kitty exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, recently referred to Hello Kitty as a cat.

She was quickly and sternly corrected by the fictional character’s creator, Japanese company Sanrio, who says the character is actually a human girl.

That’s mind-blowing, especially considering that the word “kitty” appears in the character’s name.

Yano said Sanrio made the correction after reading over the text for the exhibit.

I was corrected — very firmly… 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. 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.

Apparently, Hello Kitty has her own story as well. Her name is Kelly White, and she’s a twin who’s in third grade. According to the LA Times,

She is a Scorpio. She loves apple pie. And she is the daughter of George and Mary White.

This may come as a surprise to many, but the character who has won over the hearts of millions of children is not who we thought she was.

H/T: Time, Photo Courtesy: Tumblr