The Origin of Teddy Bears
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There are few toys that really stand up to the test of time, and one of those kinds of toys is teddy bears. Their massive popularity has endured for generations, and undoubtedly will continue for generations to come. But stuffed toy bears have not always been part of our toy collections. They were created in the twentieth century, after a somewhat shocking turn of events.
Teddy bears received their name from American President Theodore Roosevelt, since "Teddy" is the short form of the name "Theodore". The President attended a hunting trip with several other men included the governor of Mississippi. During this trip they had a bear-hunting competition, and everybody had killed a bear aside from Roosevelt. Some of Roosevelt's assistants, in an attempt to help him win the competition, themselves captured and restrained a black bear and called for Roosevelt to come and shoot the bear. But he refused to shoot the bear himself, feeling that this violated the spirit of the competition since he himself did not capture the bear. But during the capture of the bear it had been clubbed over the head and badly hurt, so Roosevelt ordered that the bear be put out of its misery.
This incident was widely reported in the media, and was made into a political cartoon in the Washington Post. Toy designer Morris Michtom saw the media coverage and had an immediate inspiration to create a new toy based on the incident. He created cute stuffed bears and placed them in his shop window, with a signing reading "Teddy's Bear", a smart way to capitalize on the publicity. The bears were an instant success, causing Michtom to make his business larger by starting the Ideal Novelty & Toy Co.. By 1906 many unrelated companies started selling the same kind of toy, and they soared to the highest heights of popularity.
Over a century later, teddy bears are still the most widely cherished toy that exists, loved by children and even adults all over the world. It seems strange that such a gruesome incident inspired such a craze for cute stuffed animals, but maybe the happy feelings that teddy bears have brought to people everywhere have made something good out of that tragic event.
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