This is an accepted version of this page
65-460: A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear . Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff 's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, named after President Theodore Roosevelt , became a popular children's toy and has been celebrated in story, song, and film. Since the creation of
130-400: A " cardioidal " ( heart-shaped ) mathematical transformation . Jones said that negative cardioidal strain results in faces appearing less mature and cuter by causing facial features at the top of the face to expand outward and upward while causing features at the bottom of the face to contract inward and upward. Stephen Jay Gould said that over time Mickey Mouse had been drawn to resemble
195-532: A "Pattern for an elephant and blanket" that was intended to be a child's toy. Two years later, the first known commercially available stuffed felt elephant originally sold as a pincushion , was made by Margarete Steiff , founder of the German Steiff company in 1880, using the Delinator pattern. Steiff used newly developed technology for manufacturing upholstery to make its stuffed toys. In 1892,
260-645: A "human infant". She further mentioned the "exaggerated high forehead" and the " doe eyes " of Bambi as another example of this trend. Mark J. Estren, Ph.D. in psychology from the University at Buffalo , said cute animals get more public attention and scientific study due to having physical characteristics that would be considered neotenous from the perspective of human development . Estren said that humans should be mindful of their bias for cute animals, so animals that would not be considered cute are also valued in addition to cute animals. The perception of cuteness
325-464: A "nurturing" and "care-giving" response in "older individuals". The perceived cuteness of an infant is influenced by the gender and behavior of the infant. In the Koyama et al. (2006) research, female infants are seen as cute for the physical attraction that female infants display more than male infants, whereas research by Karraker (1990) demonstrates that a caregiver's attention and involvement in
390-701: A character created by Michael Bond , were first produced by the family of Jeremy Clarkson in 1972, with the family eventually selling the rights to London-based Hamleys , the world's oldest toy store. More recent lines of stuffed animals have been created around unique concepts, like Uglydoll , introduced in 2001, with a number of recognizable characters and overarching style. Modern plushies from Japan are known for kawaii styles, generally thought of as (at least globally) starting with Sanrio 's Hello Kitty , with many popular characters from popular media like Pikachu and Eevee from Pokémon , and characters from stationery company San-X including Rilakkuma and
455-554: A different "Secret Code" that gave access to the Webkinz World website and a virtual version of the toy for online play. Webkinz's success inspired the creation of other stuffed toys containing codes to unlock digital content, such as the former online worlds Disney's Club Penguin and Build-A-Bearville from Build-A-Bear Workshop . In 2013, Disney launched its first collection of Disney Tsum Tsum stuffed toys based on characters from different Disney properties. Inspired by
520-466: A juvenile more with a relatively larger head, larger eyes, a larger and more bulging cranium , a less sloping and more rounded forehead, shorter, thicker and "pudgier" legs, thicker arms and a thicker snout which gave the appearance of being less protrusive. Gould suggested that this change in Mickey's image was intended to increase his popularity by making him appear cuter and "inoffensive". Gould said that
585-606: A laughing and shaking plush toy based on the character Elmo from the Sesame Street television show, was released in 1996 and was soon in demand, with some people buying and reselling the toy for hundreds of dollars. This popularity sparked similar fads, including the robotic talking plush toy Furby released in 1998 and ZhuZhu Pets , a line of robotic plush hamsters released in 2009. The Internet also presented an opportunity for new stuffed toy fads. In 2005, Ganz launched its Webkinz stuffed toys, which each came with
650-669: A person's perception of cuteness. Konrad Lorenz suggests that "caretaking behaviour and affective orientation" towards infants as an innate mechanism, and this is triggered by cute characteristics such as "chubby cheeks" and large eyes. The Sprengelmeyer et al. (2009) study expands on this claim by manipulating baby pictures to test groups on their ability to detect differences in cuteness. The studies show that premenopausal women detected cuteness better than same aged postmenopausal women. Furthermore, to support this claim, women taking birth control pills that raise levels of reproductive hormones detect cuteness better than same aged women not taking
715-657: A range of materials. The earliest were created from felt, velvet , or mohair and stuffed with straw, horsehair , or sawdust . Following World War II, manufacturers began to adopt more synthetic materials into production, and in 1954, the first teddy bear made from easily washable materials was produced. Modern stuffed toys are commonly constructed of outer fabrics such as plain cloth, pile textiles like plush or terrycloth , or sometimes socks. Common stuffing materials include synthetic fiber , batting , cotton , straw , wood wool , plastic pellets , and beans . Some modern toys incorporate technology to move and interact with
SECTION 10
#1732781021133780-400: A rounder face, a higher forehead, bigger eyes, a smaller nose and a smaller mouth. In a study that used three- to six-year-old children, Borgi et al. (2014) asserted that the children showed a viewing time preference toward the eyes of "high infantile" faces of dogs, cats and humans as opposed to "low infantile" faces of those three species. There are suggestions that hormone levels can affect
845-741: A sign "Teddy's bear." The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co . A little earlier in 1902 in Germany, the Steiff firm produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff 's designs. Steiff exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903, where it was seen by Hermann Berg, a buyer for George Borgfeldt & Company in New York (and the brother of composer Alban Berg ). He ordered 3,000 to be sent to
910-432: A study conducted by Stephan Hamann of Emory University , he found using an fMRI , that cute pictures increased brain activity in the orbital frontal cortex . Desmond Collins, who was an Extension Lecturer of Archaeology at London University , said that the lengthened youth period of humans is part of neoteny . Physical anthropologist Barry Bogin said that the pattern of children's growth may intentionally increase
975-418: A study conducted by T. R. Alley in which he had 25 undergraduate students (consisting of 7 men and 18 women) rate the cuteness of infants depending on different characteristics such as age, behavioral traits, and physical characteristics such as head shape, and facial feature configuration. Borgi et al. stated that young children demonstrate a preference for faces with a more "infantile facial" arrangement i.e.
1040-496: A symbol of southern pride. Toy companies making them advertised using slogans predicting the end of teddy bear popularity. Those around Taft theorized that he would be remembered in a similar way as Roosevelt with a popular toy. However, the Billy Possum plush toy didn't achieve the same level of popularity or enduring legacy, and the toy's production and impact were minimal in comparison. Stuffed toy A stuffed toy
1105-563: A wide range of materials including felt , cotton and velour . While many are stitched, others are made from yarn , either knitted or crocheted . Retail sales of stuffed plush animals including teddy bears totaled $ 1.3 billion in 2006, with manufacturers including Gund and Ty Inc. Teddy bear plush toys have enjoyed ongoing popularity, complete with specialty retailers such as Teddy Atelier Stursberg and Vermont Teddy Bear Company , as well as do-it-yourself chains including Build-A-Bear Workshop . The world's first teddy bear museum
1170-538: A willow tree after a long exhausting chase with hounds . They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he shoot it, although Collier told Roosevelt not to shoot the bear while it was tied. Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While
1235-470: Is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys , plushies , lovies , stuffed animals , diane , and stuffies ; in Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys or cuddly toys . The stuffed toy originated from the Steiff company of Germany in the late 19th century and gained popularity following
1300-437: Is consistent with the viewpoint that cuteness is something that releases the human caregiving system. The study said that the shift in behavior toward greater carefulness also makes sense as an adaptation for caring for small children. Doug Jones, a visiting scholar in anthropology at Cornell University , said that the faces of monkeys, dogs, birds and even the fronts of cars can be made to appear cuter by morphing them with
1365-458: Is crucial to human development because it lays the foundation for caregiving and the relationship between child and caretaker. Sherman, Haidt, & Coan (2009), in two experiments , found that exposure to high cuteness stimuli increased performance when playing the Operation game, a task that requires extreme carefulness. The study said that the shift in behavior toward greater carefulness
SECTION 20
#17327810211331430-491: Is culturally diverse. The differences across cultures can be significantly associated to the need to be socially accepted . Kawaii is a concept in Japanese popular culture that describes cuteness and innocence. Kawaii aesthetics are commonly found in anime and manga , and elements of it also appear in contemporary Japanese street fashion . Sherman, Haidt, & Coan (2009) used images of puppies and kittens for
1495-1200: Is famous enough. These toys are filled with soft plush material. Stuffed toys come in an array of different sizes, with the smallest being thumb-sized and the largest being larger than a house. However, the largest somewhat commonly produced stuffed toys are not much bigger than a person. Most stuffed toys are designed to be an appropriate size for easy cuddling . They also come in a wide variety of colors, cloth surfaces, fur textures, and humanizing embellishments. Stuffed toys are commonly sold in stores worldwide. Vendors are often abundant at tourist attractions, airports, carnivals, fairs, downtown parks, and general public meeting places of almost any nature, especially if there are children present. Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote in 1835: "Bring’ uns, lieber Weihnachtsmann, Bring’ auch morgen, bringe Musketier und Grenadier, Zottelbär und Pantherthier, Roß und Esel, Schaf und Stier, Lauter schöne Dinge!" which can be translated as: "Dear Father Christmas, bring us musketeer and grenadier, shaggy bear and panther, steed and donkey, sheep and steer: lots of lovely things." In 1878, The Delineator , an American magazine that offered sewing patterns, offered
1560-424: Is woven into cloth, dyed and trimmed. Teddy bears are a favourite form of soft toy for amateur toy makers, with many patterns commercially produced or available online. Many "teddies" are home-made as gifts or for charity, while "teddy bear artists" often create "teddies" for retail, decorating them individually with commercial and recycled ornaments such as sequins, beads and ribbons. Sewn teddy bears are made from
1625-562: The Sumikko Gurashi characters. There is also a trend of Japanese plushies being shaped like mochi . Children, as well as adults, can form connections with their stuffed toys, often sleeping or cuddling with them for comfort. They can be sentimental objects that reduce anxiety around separation , self-esteem , and fear of the night . In 2019 about a third of British adults reported sleeping with soft toys, and almost half had kept their childhood toys. Stuffed toys are made from
1690-651: The Ithaca Kitty became one of the first mass-produced stuffed animal toys in the United States, which was sold as "The Tabby Cat" printed pattern on muslin by Arnold Print Works . The toy industry significantly expanded in the early 20th century. In 1903, Richard Steiff , nephew of Margarete, designed a soft stuffed bear that differed from earlier traditional rag dolls because it was made of plush furlike fabric. As an art student in Stuttgart he visited
1755-415: The nucleus accumbens , a small brain area central to motivation and reward. This work elucidated the neural mechanism through which baby schema ( Kindchenschema ) may motivate ("release") caretaking behavior. Furthermore, cute infants were more likely to be adopted and rated as more "likeable, friendly, healthy and competent" than infants who were less cute. There is an implication that baby schema response
1820-411: The personality and expected behavior of an infant can influence the adult's interaction with the infant", and gave evidence that in this way "basic cuteness effects may occasionally be obscured in particular infants". Koyama (2006) said that an adult caregiver's perception of an infant's cuteness can motivate the amount of care and protection the caregiver provides, and the admiration demonstrated toward
1885-408: The "characteristic 'cute' appearance" of proportionately smaller snouts, higher foreheads and larger eyes than their adult counterparts. In terms of hard tissue, Jones said that the neurocranium grows a lot in juveniles while the bones for the nose and the parts of the skull involved in chewing food only reach maximum growth later. In terms of soft tissue, Jones said that the cartilaginous tissues of
1950-539: The Internet. The majority of teddy bears are manufactured in countries with low production costs, such as China and Indonesia. A few small, single-person producers in the United States make unique, non-mass-produced teddy bears. In the United Kingdom one small, traditional teddy bear company remains, Merrythought , which was established in 1930. Mohair , the fur shorn or combed from a breed of long haired goats,
2015-647: The Teddy Bear Cops program to distribute teddy bears to police, fire, and medical responders throughout the United States. On April Fools' Day 1972, issue 90 of The Veterinary Record published a paper on the diseases of Brunus edwardii detailing common afflictions of teddy bears. The largest teddy bear measures 19.41 m (63 ft 8 in) in length and was constructed by Municipio de Xonacatlán, Ideas por México and Agrupación de Productores de Peluche (all Mexico), in Estado de México, on 28 April 2019. The bear
Teddy bear - Misplaced Pages Continue
2080-622: The United Kingdom, and the United States. Many people also handmade their own stuffed toys. For instance, sock monkeys originated when parents turned old socks into toys during the Great Depression . In 1921, A. A. Milne bought a stuffed toy from Harrods department store in London for his son Christopher Robin , a toy which would later inspire the author's creation of Winnie-the-Pooh . Stuffed toys of Paddington Bear ,
2145-444: The United States. Although Steiff's records show that the bears were produced, they are not recorded as arriving in the U.S., and no example of the type, "55 PB", has ever been seen, leading to the story that the bears were shipwrecked . However, the shipwreck story is disputed – author Günther Pfeiffer notes that it was only recorded in 1953 and says it is more likely that the 55 PB was not sufficiently durable to survive until
2210-546: The concept of baby schema ( Kindchenschema ), a set of facial and body features that make a creature appear "cute" and activate ("release") in others the motivation to care for it. Cuteness may be ascribed to people as well as things that are regarded as attractive or charming. Doug Jones, a visiting scholar in anthropology at Cornell University , said that the proportions of facial features change with age due to changes in hard tissue and soft tissue, and Jones said that these "age-related changes" cause juvenile animals to have
2275-414: The creation of the teddy bear in the United States in 1903. At the same time, German toy inventor Richard Steiff designed a similar bear. In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy. In 1921, Christopher Robin 's stuffed toy, given to him by his father, A. A. Milne , would inspire the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh . In the 1970s, London-based Hamleys ,
2340-510: The duration of their cuteness. Bogin said that the human brain reaches adult size when the body is only 40 percent complete, when "dental maturation is only 58 percent complete" and when "reproductive maturation is only 10 percent complete". Bogin said that this allometry of human growth allows children to have a "superficially infantile" appearance (large skull , small face, small body and sexual underdevelopment) longer than in other " mammalian species". Bogin said that this cute appearance causes
2405-509: The early 1940s found that the shape of an infant's head positively correlated with adult caregiving and an increased perception of "cute". However a study by Thomas Alley found no such correlation and pointed out faulty procedures in that study. Alley's study found that cephalic head shape of an infant did induce a positive response from adults, and these children were considered to be more "cute". In his study, Alley had 25 undergraduate students rate line drawings of an infant's face. The same drawing
2470-401: The ears and nose continue to grow throughout a person's lifetime, starting at age twenty-five the eyebrows descend on the " supraorbital rim " from a position above the supraorbital rim to a position below it, the "lateral aspect of the eyebrows" sags with age, making the eyes appear smaller, and the red part of the lips gets thinner with age due to loss of connective tissue. A study found that
2535-535: The faces of "attractive" Northern Italian Caucasian children have "characteristics of babyness" such as a "larger forehead", a smaller jaw, "a proportionately larger and more prominent maxilla ", a wider face, a flatter face and larger " anteroposterior " facial dimensions than the Northern Italian Caucasian children used as a reference . Konrad Lorenz argued in 1949 that infantile features triggered nurturing responses in adults and that this
2600-484: The first teddy bears (which sought to imitate the form of real bear cubs), "teddies" have greatly varied in form, style, color, and material. They have become collector's items , with older and rarer teddies appearing at public auctions. Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children, and they are often given to adults to signify affection, congratulations, or sympathy. The name teddy bear comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt , who
2665-414: The form of animals, especially bears (in the case of teddy bears), mammalian pets such as cats and dogs , and highly recognizable animals such as zebras , tigers , pandas , lizards , and elephants . Many fictional animal-like characters from movies, TV shows, books, or other entertainment forms often appear in stuffed toy versions, as do both real and fictional humans if the individual or character
Teddy bear - Misplaced Pages Continue
2730-592: The industry overall. Teddy bears were an early fad that quickly grew into a cultural phenomenon. Close to 100 years later, in the 1990s, Ty Warner created Beanie Babies , a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets. The toys became a fad through marketing strategies that increased demand and encouraged collection. Pillow Pets , which can be folded from a pillow into a stuffed animal, were another successful brand, launching in 2003 and selling more than 30 million toys between 2010 and 2016. Other recent fads have involved toys paired with technology. Tickle Me Elmo ,
2795-399: The infant, and concluded that "the adults' protective feeling for children appeared to be a more important criterion for the judgment of a boy's cuteness." Melanie Glocker (2009) provided experimental evidence that infants' cuteness motivates caretaking in adults, even if they are not related to the infant. Glocker asked individuals to rate the level of cuteness of pictured infants and noted
2860-516: The initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter. Morris Michtom saw the Berryman drawing of Roosevelt and was inspired to create a teddy bear. He created a tiny soft bear cub and put it in his candy shop window at 404 Tompkins Avenue in Brooklyn with
2925-572: The joints are sewn and not articulated. They must have securely fastened eyes that do not pose a choking hazard for small children. These "plush" bears must meet a rigid standard of construction in order to be marketed to children in the United States and in the European Union. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company in the U.S. is one of the world's largest specialty marketers of teddy bears. There are also companies, like Steiff, that sell handmade collectible bears that can be purchased in stores or over
2990-491: The male infant's protection could be solely based on the perception of happiness and attractiveness of the child. The gender of an observer can determine their perception of the difference in cuteness. In a study by Sprengelmeyer et al. (2009), it was suggested that women were more sensitive to small differences in cuteness than the same aged men. This suggests that reproductive hormones in women are important for determining cuteness. This finding has also been demonstrated in
3055-476: The most popular toys, especially for children. Their uses include imaginative play, comfort objects , display or collecting, and gifts to both children and adults for occasions such as graduation, illness, condolences, Valentine's Day , Christmas , or birthdays. In 2018, the global market for stuffed toys was estimated to be US$ 7.98 billion , with the growth in target consumers expected to drive sales upwards. Many stuffed toys have become fads that have boosted
3120-424: The motivation that these participants had to care for the infants. The research suggested that individuals' rating of the perceived cuteness of an infant corresponded to the level of motivation an individual had to care for this infant. Glocker and colleagues then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to demonstrate that baby faces with higher content of baby schema features, generated more activation in
3185-536: The neotenous changes to Mickey's form were similar to the neotenous changes that occurred in human evolution . Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D. in psychology from Boston University , said "cartoonists capitalize on our innate preferences for juvenile features", and she mentioned Mickey Mouse and Bambi as examples of this trend. She said Mickey Mouse's bodily proportions "aged in reverse" since his inception, because "[h]is eyes and head kept getting bigger while his limbs kept getting shorter and thicker", culminating in him resembling
3250-449: The outer material and synthetic fiber for the stuffing. Often these toys are designed for children, but stuffed toys are popular for a range of ages and uses and have been marked by fads in popular culture that sometimes affected collectors and the value of the toys. Stuffed toys are distinguishable from other toys mainly by their softness, flexibility, and resemblance to animals or fictional characters. Stuffed toys most commonly take
3315-415: The pill. Sprengelmeyer gathered 24 young women, 24 young men, and 24 older women to participate in his study. He ran three studies in which images of white European babies were shown, and the participants were asked to rate them on a cuteness scale of one to seven. The study found differences among the groups in cuteness discrimination, which ruled out cohort and social influences on perceived cuteness. In
SECTION 50
#17327810211333380-577: The popular app of the same name, Tsum Tsums were first released in Japan (an example of mochi shaped plushies) before expanding to the United States. More recently, in 2021, Squishmallows have made an appearance as a popular Internet fad and collector's item. Cuteness Cuteness is a type of attractiveness commonly associated with youth and appearance , as well as a scientific concept and analytical model in ethology , first introduced by Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz . Lorenz proposed
3445-707: The present day. Although Steiff and Michtom were both making teddy bears at around the same time, neither would have known of the other's creation due to poor transatlantic communication. North American educator Seymour Eaton wrote the children's book series The Roosevelt Bears , while composer John Walter Bratton wrote an instrumental " The Teddy Bears' Picnic ", a "characteristic two-step", in 1907, which later had words written to it by lyricist Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. Early teddy bears were made to look like real bears, with extended snouts and beady eyes. Modern teddy bears tend to have larger eyes and foreheads and smaller noses, which are babylike features intended to enhance
3510-578: The second study it was found that premenopausal women discriminated cuteness at a higher level than their postmenopausal female peers. This finding suggested a biological factor, which was then investigated further in the third study. Here, Sprengelmeyer compared cuteness sensitivity between premenopausal women who were, and were not taking oral contraceptives. The study concluded that post-perceptual processes were impacted by hormone levels ( progesterone and estrogen specifically) in females, and thus impacted sensitivity to cuteness. A study by Konrad Lorenz in
3575-538: The study's "high cuteness" stimuli in two experiments . William R. Miller, assistant professor of biology at Baker University in Kansas , said that most people, upon seeing tardigrades , say that they are the cutest invertebrates . Kenta Takada (2016) said that Miyanoshita (2008) said that the design of chocolates made to look like rhinoceros beetle larvae is a design that is both cute and disgusting. Evolutionary biologists suspect that "puppy dog eyes",
3640-584: The toy's " cuteness ". Some teddy bears are also designed to represent different species, such as polar bears and brown bears , as well as pandas and koalas . While early teddy bears were covered in tawny mohair fur, modern teddy bears are manufactured in a wide variety of commercially available fabrics , most commonly synthetic fur , but also velour , denim , cotton , satin , and canvas . Commercially made, mass-produced teddy bears are predominantly made as toys for children. These bears either have safety joints for attaching arms, legs, and heads, or else
3705-511: The user. Manufacturers sell two main types of stuffed toys: licensed, which are toys of characters or other licensed properties, or basic, which take the shape of ordinary animals or other non-licensed subjects. Stuffed toys can also be homemade from numerous types of fabric or yarn . For instance, amigurumi is a traditional Japanese type of knitted or crocheted stuffed toy typically made with an oversized head and undersized extremities to look kawaii ('cute'). Stuffed toys are among
3770-542: The world's oldest toy store, bought the rights to Paddington Bear stuffed toys. In the 1990s, Ty Warner created Beanie Babies , a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets that were popular as collector's items. Stuffed toys are made in many different forms, but most resemble real animals (sometimes with exaggerated proportions or features), mythological creatures , cartoon characters, or inanimate objects. They can be commercially or home-produced from numerous materials, most commonly pile textiles like plush for
3835-629: The zoo and sketched the bears, which became the inspiration for his first life-like toy bear, known as "55 PB". At the same time, in the US, Morris Michtom created the first teddy bear after being inspired by a drawing of President "Teddy" Roosevelt with a bear cub. In 1903, the character Peter Rabbit from English author Beatrix Potter was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy. The following year they went on sale and were mass produced by Steiff. The popularity of stuffed toys grew, with numerous manufacturers forming in Germany,
3900-440: Was also dependent on other physical and behavioural characteristics of the child, including age. In a study by McCabe (1984) of children whose ages ranged from toddlers to teenagers, the children with more "adult-like" facial proportions were more likely to have experienced physical abuse than children of the same age who had less "adult-like" facial proportions. A study by Karraker (1990) suggested that "an adult's beliefs about
3965-470: Was an evolutionary adaptation which helped ensure that adults cared for their children, ultimately securing the survival of the species. Some later scientific studies have provided further evidence for Lorenz's theory. For example, it has been shown that human adults react positively to infants who are stereotypically cute. Studies have also shown that responses to cuteness—and to facial attractiveness in general—seem to be similar across and within cultures. In
SECTION 60
#17327810211334030-447: Was displayed at the local stadium in the city of Xonacatlán, and was made with the same materials as a commercially available teddy bear, including details such as a tiara, dress, eyes, and nose. The Billy Possum was a plush toy created after William Howard Taft won the presidential election in 1908 . The toy was a stuffed possum, made to replace the teddy bear. The possum was chosen because of Taft's love for "possum and taters", and as
4095-557: Was often referred to as "Teddy" (a nickname which he loathed). The name originated from an incident on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino . There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already killed an animal. A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier , cornered, clubbed, and tied an American black bear to
4160-545: Was set up in Petersfield, Hampshire , England, in 1984. In 1990, a similar foundation was set up in Naples , Florida , United States. These were closed in 2006 and 2005 respectively, and the bears were sold in auctions, but there are many teddy bear museums around the world today. Because police, fire and medical officials found that giving a teddy bear to a child during a crisis stabilized and calmed them, NAPLC created
4225-429: Was used each time, however the cephalic head shape was changed using a cardioidal transformation (a transformation that models cephalic growth in relation to ageing process) to adjust the perceived age; other features of the face were not changed. The study concluded that a large head shape increased perceived cuteness, which then elicited a positive response in adult caretaking. The study also noted that perceived cuteness
#132867