Teddy's Bear

November 1902, Smedes, Mississippi. It's the second day of a presidential hunting trip in this area. The name of the main hunter is Theodor Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. During the first two days of the trip, the president (who's a great hunting amateur) doesn't shoot a single animal, the expedition is really unfortunate for him. Yet his hunting guide finds a bear, attacks it with his hounds and ties a weakened and frightened animal to the tree. He calls the president so he can have the honour of killing the bear, but when Roosevelt arrives and sees a defenceless animal, he feels pity for it and refuses to kill the bear. A few days later the Washington Post reproduces the scene with a cartoon entitled "Drawing the Line in Mississippi".

Not long after the publication of the drawing, several toymakers saw a great opportunity in the whole incident. So they took the bear from the cartoon and turned it into a plush bear: Teddy's Bear. Everybody loved these toys and this is how the teddy bear was born. In 2002, 100 years after a memorable hunting, somebody came with a proposition of establishing a Teddy Bear Day. Today, this day is celebrated every 25 of November in Poland and September 9 in the USA.

Yet, there's the other side of the story. Let's look at the fact of how this incident and plushy industry have changed our perception of bears. Today we often perceive them as cute and cuddly animals (just think of pandas and koalas), their image is somehow mollified whereas prior to 1902 bears were seen as ferocious beasts and monsters. I really recommend watching a passionate lecture of Jon Mooallem where he shows how people are apt to change their views on animals, especially when they become an endangered species.