Sam Leith explores the art of the nappy

In this month's Cultural Notes column, now free to read online, Sam Leith addresses that most troubling of modern semiotic issues: the meaning of the ornamentations  on nappies. Given that babies' experiences date back, by definition, almost exactly no time at all, why are the images on their nappies and toys so relentlessly retro? Given that they must be intended solely for the eyes of parents, why are winsome animals considered so integral to the business of nappy-adornment? A recent father himself, Leith can't help wondering whose benefit the whole industry is actually for.