As of today, the teddy bear becomes Mississippi's newest state symbol.

The teddy bear is Mississipppi's official state toy.

Mississippi is the first state in the nation to have an official state toy.

You've got to be kidding! :rolleyes:

That's a bit precious, don't you think? ;) :lol:

LOL :rolleyes:

Originally posted by jen*
You've got to be kidding! :rolleyes:

It's true! The teddy bear is Mississippi's newest state symbol...as well as the official state toy.

As, the resident historian and a resident of Mississippi, I should provide some backstory here. Historians disagree on the actual origin of the Teddy Bear, but this is probably the most widely accepted version:

You may know that those lovable bears were supposedly named after the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt (who actually detested the nickname "Teddy"). What you may not know is why. T.R. was an avid hunter, and in 1902 he took a hunting trip to the Mississippi delta. The game of choice was, you guessed it, bear.

After several days of less-than-successful hunting, Roosevelt was offered a young captive bear to shoot for a trophy. He refused, saying it was unsportsmanlike, and news of his act of mercy swept the country. A famous toymaker latched onto this story of "Teddy's Bear" and the rest is history. :)

Interesting Nolanbuc! I'd really like to see a picture of this teddy bear. It all really depends on what the bear looks like.:p

lol That's kind of cute. Thanks for the history lesson Buc. ;)

Originally posted by nolanbuc
As, the resident historian and a resident of Mississippi, I should provide some backstory here. Historians disagree on the actual origin of the Teddy Bear, but this is probably the most widely accepted version:

You may know that those lovable bears were supposedly named after the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt (who actually detested the nickname "Teddy"). What you may not know is why. T.R. was an avid hunter, and in 1902 he took a hunting trip to the Mississippi delta. The game of choice was, you guessed it, bear.

After several days of less-than-successful hunting, Roosevelt was offered a young captive bear to shoot for a trophy. He refused, saying it was unsportsmanlike, and news of his act of mercy swept the country. A famous toymaker latched onto this story of "Teddy's Bear" and the rest is history. :)

Governor Musgrove called HR Bill 951--the bill to designate the teddy bear Mississippi's official state toy--a distraction, saying legislators should worry more about Mississippi's more pressing issues (such as health care, jobs and education).

But, Musgrove signed that bill anyway, which--just yesterday--became one of Mississippi's newest state laws. :)