The Jewelry Box
If you grew up as a girl in a western country, there’s a high chance you were gifted a jewelry box when you were small. You cranked the oblong key on the back, then slowly opened the lid to reveal a ballerina spinning gracefully to the music box chimes. Sometimes you tried to peek inside without setting the music off to see if she had a secret life in there.
But where did the magic ballerina jewelry boxes come from, and why did we all have one growing up? As insanely popular as they continue to be, their history remains a total mystery that even a Google deep dive can’t uncover. This makes us feel more than a little suspicious.