The children's show which first aired 26 years ago on BBC is at the center of a dark conspiracy theory. Was Teletubbies actually inspired by 4 children being held in an infamous Bulgarian mental asylum? That theory might not be as far-fetched as you'd like to believe.
In the 1990s, Bulgaria had some of the highest numbers of children in state institutions in all of Europe. Bulgaria's mental institutions were a well-known problem and in 2007, BBC even released a documentary on the atrocious conditions in these hospitals; Bulgaria's Abandoned Children.
According to conspiracies, the Teletubbies are meant to represent actual children from one of the asylums and the theory claims that the four children who inspired the show all died on the same day. The institution in question was colloquially known as 'La La Land.'
Laa-Laa
The yellow Teletubby 'Laa-Laa' was supposedly based on a child patient who spent years in isolation, hence the permanent facial disfigurement. Think Joker and his Chelsea smile.
Tinky Winky
One of the children had gone deaf and also had some unfortunate facial deformities. Allegedly the child was tied to a fence outside and eventually got frostbite. Hence Tinky Winky as the purple/blue Teletubby.
Dipsy
Dipsy was inspired by a child who had clearly been malnourished to the point of getting sick. Hungry and unwell the child vomited, and with conditions as bad as they were at the institution, he ends up lying in his own puke for days on end. This is where Dipsy gets his green color.
Po
As if the other Teletubbies weren't tortured enough, now we have Po. The child that Po is based on allegedly fell into a fire and was burnt to a crisp, hence Po's red coloring.
"But what about the TV's in their stomachs?", you might ask. Television sets were the only form of joy and laughter for children in the asylum. When the mental institution decided to get rid of all the TVs, the children decided to swallow the smaller television sets for safekeeping.
Put it all together and you have... The Teletubbies.
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