This Just In: COBOL & Barbie, separated at birth

From a press release email received just moments ago:

So what do Barbie and COBOL, the programming language at the heart of most business transactions, have in common?

Believe it or not, both turned 50 this year. But that’s where the similarities end. While Barbie has gone on to become a global icon recognized throughout the world, COBOL is still struggling for respect and recognition, according to a recent survey released today by Micro Focus.

COBOL is a programming language that runs most global businesses – from the banking industry to retail shops and everything in between. It impacts all of us every single day, powering traffic lights, our cell phone calls, and retail transactions. According to a survey releases by Micro Focus (www.microfocus.com), the average American uses COBOL at least 13 times per day – or 90 times per week – and that’s just for cell phone calls, retail transactions and commuting on the train. Despite its massive presence in our lives, only 23% of Americans have ever even heard of COBOL.

Barbie, on the other hand, is known by everyone. And let’s be honest – what impact has she really had on any of our lives?

Other similarities between COBOL and Barbie:

* COBOL has enormously outsized breasts
* COBOL can’t stand without high heels
* COBOL has no genitals to speak of, yet incites mad lust in certain incredibly geeky individuals
* Barbie thinks “math is hard” (talking version, now discontinued); COBOL makes everything hard

(Kudos to Nic221′s photostream for that image of Barbie as hacker.)

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