Scott Robertson

Teddy Bear

By: Posted On: 2012-01-13

Did you have a special "teddy" in your life? Do you know how they came to be called Teddy bears?


Awhile back I was watching a kids movie called "First Dog" and in that movie is a scene that tells the following "Teddy bear" story - but with slight errors. What follows is based on my research and I believe to be historically correct:
Just over one hundred years ago President Roosevelt was on a hunting expedition in Mississippi with a group of friends. The President had no kills so the hosts caught and tied up a bear, which they presented to him as a defenseless target. The President refused to shoot the poor animal, saying ‘Spare the bear! I will not shoot a tethered animal.’ The Washington Post later published a political cartoon of the incident.


Later that month, a couple in Brooklyn made a soft bear toy, named it “Teddy’s bear”, and displayed it in their shop window next to a copy of the cartoon from the Post. From that moment on, the teddy bear became a household name and to this day is a bed time staple in bedrooms all over the world.


For the full story and more information, please visit The Teddy Bear Museum: http://www.theteddybearmuseum.com/history.htm 


 
 

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