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Hello Kitty just had her 35th birthday yesterday. The famous Japanese kitty cartoon icon was created by Shintaro Tsuji for an in-home design contest back in 1974 and soon it became a cultural and global phenomenon.

Hello kitty did not just stay in Japan. Its influence was so tremendous that it swept the world by storm. Hello Kitty started as a humble greeting card character. As her popularity grew, Hello Kitty had her own theme park, TV series and even featuring her cute face baked into bread at many restaurants.

Hello Kitty's popularity continued to expand. She began her own line of merchandise which is worth more than $1 billion a year to date. You can find Hello Kitty products from dolls, stickers, greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies and so froth.

Fox 43 has an interesting article that pretty much sums up the life of Hello Kitty from the very inception to how she is today.

Happy Birthday Hello Kitty!

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