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Teddy Bears

Teddy bears are stuffed toy bears. They are very traditional toys. Despite its international and longstanding fame, this favorite plaything has actually only existed since the early 1900s. Oddly, these toys came to exist independently in both the United States and Germany the same year.

In late 1902, teddy bears got their start thanks to a cartoon drawn by Clifford K. Berryman. It depicted President Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a small bear cub. A shop owner Morris Michtom was inspired to create and sell "Teddy's Bears" in response.

Teddy bears gained immediate popularity. Around the same time in Germany, a toy bear prototype was being designed based on the zoo sketches of Richard Steiff. Europeans had little interest in the design, but Americans happened to be going through a toy bear craze at the same time. This resulted in an order of 3,000 being placed.

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