GERMAN-AMERICANS RAISING STINK ABOUT NEW FART DOLL

GERMAN-AMERICANS RAISING STINK ABOUT NEW FART DOLL

SEASIDE, Calif. (Wireless Flash) -- German-Americans are raising a stink over a new novelty toy that imitates the sound of a man passing gas. The doll -- called "Cousin Cabbage" -- is dressed in lederhosen and when he's squeezed, he lets out a fart followed by German-accented phrases such as "Mein heiney is on fire!" and "I smell nuttink." Although the German bean doll is a gag gift, Katarina Davitt of GermanCorner.com isn't laughing. She claims Cousin Cabbage is promoting negative stereotypes at a time when many German-Americans are starting to study their ancestry. The doll's creator, Richard Halpern, claims Davitt is making "much apoo about nothing" because the flatulent toy is a tribute to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, whose last name means "cabbage" in English.