A complete, cuddly history of the Teddy Bear
When Theodore Roosevelt came upon a bear that was trapped (or some reports say he was tied) to a tree, his hunting party urged him to shoot the animal. The U.S. President would have none of it. He insisted it wouldn't be sporting. A newspaper subsequently published a cartoon depicting the incident. Spurred by the cartoon, which showed Roosevelt turning his back (and his gun) away from a cute little bear cub, an enterprising entrepreneur made a fuzzy toy and dubbed it "Teddy's Bear." That was 1902 and it was Christmas, and the entrepreneur, a man named Morris Michtom, eventually established a toy empire, largely built on what would be called the teddy bear. A little bit of housekeeping: Roosevelt's hunting...