 HISTORY
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 IN CARTOONS
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 ALL AROUND
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 HOW TO
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How They Came to Be
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HISTORY
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IN CARTOONS
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ALL AROUND
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HOW TO
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The Teddy Bear was invented in 1902 in both the USA and in Germany. It is named after Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the USA (1901-1909). Now, why did this happen?
President Roosevelt, in 1902, while visiting Mississippi to settle a border dispute, decided to go out hunting for the day. After several disappointing hours of not catching any wild game, he decided to retire for the day. Meanwhile, one of his aides discovered a lost cub wandering in the woods and tied it to a tree. He then brought the president to it so he would finally have something to shoot. Roosevelt, however, couldn't bring himself to kill the defenseless cub and ordered it to be set free. The press following Roosevelt's visit heard about the story and it inspired cartoonist Clifford Berryman to draw a cartoon of the incident, entitled 'Drawing the Line in Mississippi'. The cartoon was printed in all the papers, and triggered a moment of inspiration for Brooklyn candy store owner Morris Michtom. Using Berryman's cartoon as a guide, Michtom quickly worked out a pattern and within days had put together a little jointed bear cub. He put the new doll-like bear his shop window with a copy of the cartoon and a handwritten notice saying 'Teddy's Bear'- Teddy being the nickname for Theodore. The bears sold like wildfire and within a year, Michtom made enough to close his candy store and make the bears exclusively. He later founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. which became one of the biggest toy firms in the world. Of course, there were stuffed bears before this time. Yet, it was in this period when people started to make the bears with joints that could stand up like humans. |
