Season 10+1: The Diapers of Victory

The first of our Season 10 extra research episodes is ready, and as always our patrons get early access! This week, Nina explores the long history of diapers around the world and in Japan to better understand the subtext and significance of Karlmann's cloth diapers. Please listen to it!

Show Notes

• Books and articles:

  Gladwell, Malcolm. “Smaller.” The New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20081218211733/http://www.gladwell.com/2001/2001_11_26_a_diaper.htm

  Kohno, Goro. “History of Diapering in Japan.” Pediatrician, vol. 14, suppl. 1, 1987, pp. 2–5.

  Krafchik, Bernice. “History of diapers and diapering.” International Journal of Dermatology, vol. 55, no. S1, 17 June 2016, pp. 4–6, https://doi.org/10.1111/ijd.13352.

  • Note: “author discloses receipt of financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article from The Procter & Gamble Company” and yet does not consider there to be any conflict of interest. [insert upside-down smily here]

  Whiter, Peter. “From the Bottom Up - Paddi and Cosifits 1947-1990.” From Pillboxes To Bandages ...And Back Again. The Robinson Story 1839-2000, Robinson And Sons Ltd, 2000, pp. 75–92. https://web.archive.org/web/20110512031036/http://www.paddi.org.uk/From-the-Bottom-Up.php

  • Note: Corporate publication

• The Wikipedia pages for "diaper" (English) and "omutsu / おむつ" (Japanese).

• "It’s a Peach, Not a Stork! How P&G Recovered from Pampers Fail in Japan" - brief discussion of some of the issues Proctor & Gamble encountered trying to sell their Pampers-brand diapers in Japan, from Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Global Management.

• Detailed info about Pampers when they were first brought to market, including early pricing, scans of patent documents, photographs of the product and packaging, and scans of early advertisements.