Melted Bart - May 4, 2003

On May 10, 1993 a fire broke out in the Kader Toy Factory in Thailand and 189 workers died.

It was the height of the Simpsons craze and the factory was producing Simpsons toys. After the fire, labor activists collected discarded toys and a melted Bart became a symbol of the tragedy.

Malaysian labor activist Tian Chua writes: ...The bodies of Bart Simpson scattered all over the ground - some half burned, some without heads or limbs, some half completed. There were many other toys too. But the bright yellow color of the Simpsons stood up most vividly on the black ashes. Kader was one of the largest toy manufacturers in Asia. It was also a typical multinational company which moved around for cheap labour. Kader was jointly owned by Thai and Hong Kong capitalists. It mainly produced toys for European & American markets. The doll of the Simpsons was the latest hot item for kids that year.