Valentine's Week 2022: When is Teddy Day? Do You Know How Teddy Bear Got Its Name?

Teddy bears are unquestionably one of the most adorable gifts. Teddy day is commemorated by the offering of a teddy bear to your loved ones on Valentines week. But do we know how the bear look-a-like stuff toy got his name as 'Teddy Bear'?

It all started when U.S. President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was on a bear hunting trip near Onward, Mississippi, on November 14, 1902, when Governor Andrew H. Longino of Mississippi had invited him, but unlike the other hunters in the party, Theodore had failed to find a single bear.

Later on, a black bear was cornered and tied to a willow tree by Roosevelt's helpers, commanded by Holt Collier, a born slave, and former Confederate cavalryman. Roosevelt was summoned, and it was proposed that he shoot it.

However, Roosevelt hesitated to shoot the bear because he thought it was unsportsmanlike. The story of the incident immediately went across the country through newspaper articles. The president's refusal to shoot a bear was detailed in the stories. It wasn't just any president, either; the big game was Theodore Roosevelt.

After reading the article, political cartoonist Clifford Berryman chose to mock the president's hesitation to shoot the bear. On November 16, 1902, Berryman's cartoon was published in the Washington Post. When Morris Michtom, the proprietor of a Brooklyn confectionery shop, saw the cartoon, he had an idea. Michtom decided to make a stuffed toy bear and dedicate it to the president who refused to shoot a bear. He and his wife Rose also made stuffed animals, and Michtom decided to make a stuffed toy bear and dedicate it to the president who refused to shoot a bear. 'Teddy,' he named it.

Michtom mass-produced the toy bears after gaining Roosevelt's permission to use his name, and they were so popular that he soon created the Ideal Toy Company. The Teddy Bear is still popular around the world, and its origins may be traced back to Theodore's fatal hunting trip.

The smallest Teddy bear

While teddy bears come in all shapes and sizes, the smallest stitched toy to yet is 0.35 inches tall and was created by Cheryl Moss of South Africa, who is known for her' microbears' (ranging in height from nine millimetres to 13 millimetres).

The tallest Teddy bear

CT Dreams (Connect the Dreams), a teddy bear on exhibit at the Exploration Place in Wichita, Kansas, held the record for being the tallest stitched teddy bear for a long time, standing at 55 feet and 4 inches.

The largest teddy bear, measuring 19.41 m (63 ft 8 in) in length, was displayed at the Estado de México on April 28, 2019, according to Guinness World Records.

In Pattaya, Thailand, there is a Teddy Bear Museum. The Teddy Bear Museum in Pattaya, designed by Hyun Chul Kim of South Korea, houses approximately 1,000 stuffed animals organized into 12 pictorial zones, including the Inca Zone, Dinosaur Zone, Africa Zone, Under the Sea Zone, Space Zone, and more. Visitors are welcome to touch the exhibits and take photographs with them. 

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