When the Cabbage Patch Kids exploded on the scene in 1983, the harmonious ads were at odds. Shoppers went wild. With what it took to actually acquire one. I got my dog. Toy stores turned into wrestling rings. I got my three year old down here. A blood sport for a stuffed toy. There were Victor's. There she is. Hello. Jennifer Harris-Marx was 13 when she got Karen Marie, one of the last dolls on the store shelf. You'll do whatever you can, and if that means fighting in the toy aisles, you'll fight in the toy aisles. I never expected riots in the department stores. Xavier Roberts created the Cabbage Patch Kids, which were unlike any other dolls on the market at that time. They were distinctive and diverse. Each one had a unique name and birthday. If you weren't buying a doll, you were adopting a Cabbage Patch Baby. Chris Bench is Chief Curator at the strong National Museum of Play, which just inducted Cabbage Patch Kids into the toy Hall of Fame. I remember my mom got a tip that some were arriving in the town Hardware Store, quietly lined up in the back door. People were let in one at a time.

It was like a speakeasy. It's a craze that paved the way for furby mania and Tickle Nielmo. Today, Cabbage Patch Kids are not only still on the market, they're delivered daily at a place called Babyland General Hospital in Georgia. We have a beautiful baby girl. I said, They have the Cabbage Patch Hospital. And she said, We're going. And I said, I'm so sorry. Absolutely. For adults, it's nostalgia. For kids, it's a chance to hold the dolls, even adopt one without all that pushing and shoving. Turns out it was not just a passing fad. Why have you held on to her for so long? Oh, gosh, I can't imagine not. Where would she go? What was planted in the patch more than four decades ago is still growing. Joe Freier, BBC News. Thanks for watching. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the BBC News app, or follow us on social media.