Archive for May 11th, 2009
It’s hard to find any child who hasn’t at one time or another had a teddy bear. They are, after all, one of the most common security items for youngsters. But even though you might be hard pressed to find a household that doesn’t have teddy bears strewn about the kid’s room, not as many people are aware of the story behind these cute, cuddly toys. They actually date as far back as November 1902.
During this time, then President Theodore Roosevelt was invited to a hunting party in Mississippi. During this trip, a group of Roosevelt’s aides clubbed and cornered a black bear. They subsequently tied the bear to a tree and called Roosevelt to it that he might shoot the bear and claim a kill for the day. Roosevelt refused, however, feeling it was unsportsmanlike. He did instruct that the bear be killed, though, and put out of its pain and misery. Inspired by the story and subsequent political cartoons dealing with the issue, Morris Michtom received permission to create and sell Teddy’s bear, which later just became known as the teddy bear.