One of the most surprising news of the day that may have a lot of people scratching their heads in disbelief is about a 40-year-old cat. Errr... forget about that. Apparently, "Hello Kitty is not a cat."

In a report from LA Times, University of Hawaii anthropologist, Christine R. Yano, revealed a lot of facts about the well-loved character.

She recalled the time when she wrote a script which will be used for the "Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty," exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum. She described Hello Kitty as a cat, like millions of people around the world would, but when her submitted work was returned with some major corrections, she was stunned when she learned about the character's real identity. 

"I was corrected - very firmly," she told LA Times. "That's one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She's a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She's never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it's called Charmmy Kitty."

Yano, who is also a Harvard visiting professor, has spent years investigating the Hello Kitty phenomenon. She is also the author of "Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty's Trek Across the Pacific," wrote LA Times. In the interview, she explained why the character has achieved worldwide phenomenon compared to others.

"Hello Kitty works and is successful partly because of the blankness of her design," Yano observed. "People see the possibility of a range of expressions. You can give her a guitar, you can put her on stage, you can portray her as is. That blankness gives her an appeal to so many types of people."

Other interesting Hello Kitty facts, as stated on the Hello Kitty Sanrio Town's website are as follows:

"Hello Kitty is a cheerful and happy little girl with a heart of gold. She lives in London with her mama (Mary White), papa (George White), and her twin sister Mimmy. Hello Kitty loves to bake and she can make really delicious cookies. She learned her baking talents from her mama, who makes scrumptious apple pies that are enjoyed by the whole family. 

Hello Kitty's hobbies include traveling, listening to music, reading, eating cookies and mama's apple pies, and making new friends. One of her most popular mottos is "You can never have too many friends."

Hello Kitty has a pet cat named Charmmy Kitty and a pet hamster named Sugar. Charmmy Kitty was a present from her papa, while Sugar was given to her by her childhood friend Dear Daniel."

If Hello Kitty is a girl, then why was she created without a mouth?

"It's so that people who look at her can project their own feeling onto her face, because she has an expressionless face," designer Yuko Yamaguchi explained in her interview with Time Magazine.

The first ever Hello Kitty conference will run from October 30 to November 2 to celebrate her 40^th anniversary. It will be held at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.

The event will be jampacked with cool activities with the craziest one involving real tattoo artists on the venue. According to the event website, the tattoo artists can ink Sanrio Superfans who would like to keep "lifelong memories" of Hello Kitty. It will also conduct workshops about bouquet making and Hello Kitty nail art along with the offering of limited edition Sanrio items.

On the other hand, the "Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty" will open on October 11 to be held at the Japanese American National Museum.

Meanwhile, here's a charming little video of Hello Kitty's cat, Charmmy Kitty.