People who collect these are called arctophiles. What are they collecting?
Teddy Bears
Today is national teddy bear. Did you know that the teddy bear was named after...that's right you guessed it...President Theodore Roosevelt after a hunting incident left a bear wounded and he ordered to put it out of his misery so it wouldn't suffer. A toy store owner reads about this in the New York Post and it asked permission to name the toy after him and it stuck. Some other interesting bear facts:
- At the height of the toys popularity, a priest in Michigan publicly denounced it as an enemy of the American family (???). He claimed that the stuffed toy would take over the mother's nurturing role and would eventually lead to racial suicide! (I'm sorry but was crack around then...what?!?)
- Bears from German toy maker Steiff are among the world's most prized collectibles. In 2000, one Steiff bear made in 1904 was priced at almost $18,000, according to one collectibles website.
Below: A picture of the world's smallest teddy bear...as if they can't get any cuter!
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