Michael Jackson fans have shared their shock after learning exactly who Annie is in his hit song Smooth Criminal – and why he wanted to know if she’s doing okay
Everybody knows the 1987 classic Smooth Criminal – but many Michael Jackson fans have no idea why the pop legend is apparently so interested in Annie’s wellbeing. The singer asks “Annie, are you okay?” roughly 30 to 40 times throughout the track, leaving fans wondering exactly who Annie is.
It prompted one Quora user to ask: “Did Michael Jackson ever find out if Annie was OK?” However, it turns out Annie isn’t actually a real person, and Michael is in fact referring to the Resusci Anne CPR training mannequin. The dummy has been used worldwide to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and students were taught to ask, “Annie, are you OK?” to check for responsiveness.
In context to the song, Annie is portrayed as a victim of violence, as seen in the lyrics “She was struck down, it was her doom”. In reality, the doll’s face was created from the lifeless body of a young girl pulled from the River Seine in Paris, France, in the 19th century.
A statement on LifeSaver Training reads: “Since her identity could not be established, a death mask was made, as was customary in such a case.
“There was no evidence of violence and it was assumed that she had taken her own life.
“Several romantic stories based on this mystery were published. She was known as the Girl from the River Seine.”
In 1958, doll maker Asmund S. Laerdal began work on making a life-like mannequin for training people in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
From there, he commissioned sculptress Emma Mathiassen to model a mannequin face in the likeness of the Girl from the River Seine and went on to create Resusci Anne two years later.
Commenting on this revelation, one user said: “This is correct, also trainees are taught that after giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and checking heartbeats and asking ‘Annie, are you ok?’.
“They have to tell Annie what happened, for she doesn’t remember anything after he came into her apartment and left the bloodstains on the carpet.
“Then she ran underneath the table, but he could see she was unable, so she ran into the bedroom and it was her doom.
“The only correct answer is to explain to her that she’s been hit by, she’s been struck by a Smooth Criminal, then start dancing to celebrate Annie being saved.”
Another user added: “But why was Michael Jackson taking CPR lessons?”
A third user said: “This is truly a ‘today I learnt’! So randomly interesting!”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
