When we talk about the 10 terrible fates that have befallen inflatable companions, the history is surprisingly rich and oddly entertaining. In 2016, the University of Duisburg‑Essen revealed that over 40% of 263 surveyed straight men imagined having sex with a robot. Before we reached that futuristic frontier, humanity relied on the humble blow‑up doll and its even more rudimentary ancestors. It may surprise you to learn that Dutch sailors in the 1600s crafted some of the earliest sex dolls from discarded cloths[1]. This quirky legacy is why the Japanese sometimes still call sex dolls “Dutch wives.” One of the first mass‑produced models appeared in 1908, boasting a pneumatic tube filled with oil.
10 terrible fates of blow‑up dolls
10 Up Dolls
It’s an understatement to say the Nazis entertained bizarre schemes—think training dogs to speak. Among the oddities, reports claim they ordered “synthetic comforters,” essentially blow‑up dolls, to curb soldiers’ exposure to French prostitutes and the STDs they carried. A contested 1940 journal entry from SS chief Heinrich Himmler allegedly warned that French prostitutes posed the greatest health danger to German troops in France.[2]
These Nazi‑styled dolls were envisioned as Aryan‑type—blonde hair, blue eyes—and meant to be stowed in soldiers’ backpacks. Whether any were actually manufactured remains a mystery.
9 The Blow‑Up Doll That Became A Scarecrow
In 2015, Scottish farmer David Gray grew frustrated with deer ravaging his turnip field. Seeking a creative deterrent, he strapped a cheap inflatable doll to a pole, turning it into a makeshift scarecrow.
The uncanny figure proved far more effective than Gray’s previous bag‑on‑a‑stick method, shooing the deer away. However, the doll’s suggestive shape sparked a local uproar, causing motorists to double‑take and even resulting in several near‑miss accidents.
8 The Woman Who Married A Blow‑Up Doll
Marriages to inanimate objects rarely receive legal recognition, yet that hasn’t stopped some from trying. In 2009, a Pennsylvania resident unofficially wed a roller coaster, even adopting the coaster manufacturer’s name as her surname, claiming a spiritually fulfilling bond.
Across state lines in Ohio, a woman renewed her vows alongside 19 other couples on Valentine’s Day. When her husband was away on business, friends brought a full‑size inflatable doll dressed in his clothing—pants, shirt, and tie—with a photograph taped over its face. Originally slated to serve as matron of honor for four friends, she was so taken by the doll that she joined the ceremony herself, prompting the real husband to laugh so hard he temporarily lost his voice.
7 Blow‑Up Dolls That Got Stuck In Crazy Parties
Inflatable dolls have a knack for turning ordinary celebrations into headline‑making spectacles. In 2016, a British bachelor party was expelled from New York’s 9/11 memorial after participants were caught snapping selfies with a blow‑up doll at Ground Zero, just weeks before the 15th anniversary of the attacks. Survivors condemned the act as distasteful.
A stranger party unfolded in Florida in 2009 when a police officer responded to reports of lewd conduct in a Publix parking garage. Inside a Lincoln Town Car, officers discovered a man surrounded by onlookers, two inflatable dolls, and several king‑size boxes of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Witnesses claimed the man was making out with the dolls while wearing “customized shorts.”
When the officer approached, the man produced his driver’s license and was subsequently charged with disturbing the peace, trespassing, and lewd conduct. The inflatable companions were seized as evidence.
6 The Blow‑Up Doll That Brought The Bomb Squad
Senior pranks in Indiana have reached extreme levels. In 2017, students vandalized their high school with graffiti, fire alarms, and even sprayed a fire extinguisher across the basketball court.
In Rushville, 2011, a high‑school senior attempted a prank by placing a deflated blow‑up doll inside a girls’ bathroom. When school officials observed a hooded figure entering the bathroom with a package and then leaving empty‑handed, they called in the bomb squad. The teen was arrested and initially faced felony criminal mischief, later reduced to a misdemeanor.
5 Blow‑Up Dolls And Water
During the 2011 Queensland floods in Australia, which claimed at least 31 lives, many residents clung to unconventional flotation aids. A teenage couple was rescued after they attempted to stay afloat by clinging to a blow‑up doll tied to a tree. Police warned that such inflatable toys are not certified flotation devices.
In 2012, Turkish rescuers pulled what they believed to be a woman’s body from the Black Sea, only to discover it was a deflated blow‑up doll. The doll was subsequently deflated and discarded, with no clues as to its origin.
4 The Blow‑Up Doll Bandit
The “Blow‑Up Doll Bandit” earned his moniker in 2009 after breaking into three adult stores in Australia, engaging in sexual activity with a “Jungle Jane” inflatable doll, and discarding the doll in a nearby alley. Law enforcement collected DNA, fingerprints, and photographs, eventually apprehending the suspect on four counts of breaking and entering.
That same year, the California Highway Patrol halted traffic on the 60 Freeway in Mira Loma after a naked blow‑up doll was found blocking the carpool lane.
3 Politicians And Blow‑Up Dolls
Bob Woodward’s 2015 biography of Richard Nixon recounts a story from Nixon’s deputy assistant, who claimed two of the former president’s friends once slipped a blow‑up doll into his bed during a Caribbean vacation.
In 2016, Chile’s economy minister received a blow‑up doll as a gag gift from the head of the exporters’ association Asexma at a dinner. While it’s customary for Asexma to present humorous gifts, the incident sparked a political uproar, with many decrying it as sexist.
2 The Pilot And The Blow‑Up Doll
In 2016, Air New Zealand terminated two employees after a pilot’s photo surfaced on social media, showing him planting a kiss on a blow‑up doll. The airline issued a statement that it was “shocked and appalled,” and the pilot was suspended pending investigation.
Further controversy erupted when a Snapchat video showed a flight attendant spitting water with a caption wishing they could spit on passengers. The airline’s chief executive later posted an apology video, acknowledging the company’s failure to uphold its standards.
1 Rodeos And Blow‑Up Dolls
In 2016, Anti Rodeo Action NZ launched a campaign to prevent any future land grants for rodeo use by the Warkworth Rodeo Club after a child’s event featured a sexualized blow‑up doll described as a “girlfriend” discussing a honeymoon. The group argued the doll’s presence was inappropriate.
Warkworth Rodeo organizers claimed they were unaware of the doll’s use and continued operations despite the protests, with Anti Rodeo Action persisting in its demonstrations.