Escape From Teddy Bear Island Trivia Quiz

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

And so the history of the teddy bear began, with Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt refusing to kill a bear while it had been tied up to a tree during a hunting trip. The story caught the nation's heart and also the imagination of cartoonist, Clifford K. Berryman, as depicted on the image shown.

The cartoon was published in the Washington Post with a caption which read "Drawing the Line in Mississippi".

Answer: Rose and Morris Michtom

Rose and Morris Michtom were Russian-Jewish immigrants who owned a candy store in New York. They saw a copy of the Clifford K. Berryman cartoon in the Washington Post, and were so taken with the story that Rose made a bear out of velvet material and gave it button eyes.

They called the new toy "Teddy's bear" and promptly displayed it in their shop window. Such was its popularity that more were made and mass produced. They had already received permission from the president to use his name.

Answer: They have a button tag in their ear

At around the same time that Rose and Morris Michtom first created their "Teddy's bear", Richard Steiff and his aunt, Margarete, were designing their first toy bear. Richard used to visit a zoo in Stuttgart and would sketch the bears in their enclosure.

A prototype of the new bear, with articulated joints, was made and exhibited at the 1903 Spring Toy Fair at Leipzig. It took a while for their new concept to take root, but soon they had sold thousands and the bear became an international success.

The button in the ear became a fixture from 1904, and although slight changes have been made to the design, it is still included today as a mark of excellence.

Answer: Arctophile

A person who collects teddy bears is called an arctophile. This is taken from the Greek words "arctos" (bear) and "phile" (lover of). As of the 2012 Guinness World Records, American arctophilist Jackie Miley had the largest number of teddy bears with 8,026 in her collection.

Answer: Angora goat

Mohair is the soft yarn made from the shorn fur from an Angora goat. It is used to make warm clothing and added to home furnishing material to make it feel softer. The fur from alpaca was also used in the making of traditional bears. Mohair is still used today but mass producers prefer synthetic fabrics instead. Black shoe button eyes were replaced with glass and then plastic. Joints were made from metal, but again plastic was introduced at a later date. Manufacturers today have to comply with safety regulations as certain toy parts can cause young children to choke if they are swallowed.

Answer: 6 o'clock

Teddy bears were becoming popular throughout the world when American composer John Walter Bratton wrote the music to "Teddy Bear's Picnic" in 1907. It was originally titled "The Teddy Bear Two-Step". British songwriter, Jimmy Kennedy, added the lyrics in 1930 and the song has been very popular ever since, adding to the appeal of the very collectible teddy bear.

"Picnic time for Teddy Bears
The little Teddy Bears are having
A lovely time today.
Watch them, catch them unawares,
And see them frolic on their holiday.

See them gaily gad about
They love to play and shout,
They never have any care;
At six o'clock their Mommies and Daddies
Will take them home to bed,
Because they're tired little Teddy Bears."

Answer: Winnie the Pooh

Paddington Bear and Yogi Bear were both introduced in 1958 and Fozzie Bear from the Muppets was introduced in 1976. Winnie the Pooh was created by A. A. Milne in his stories about the honey loving bear, and his adventures with Piglet, Eeyore, Owl and Tigger too.

He made his first appearance in the book, "Winnie-the-Pooh" (1926), and then "The House at Pooh Corner" (1928). Walt Disney bought out certain rights in 1953 and started making a host of films from 1966. Toys and collectibles have been sold worldwide ever since, including a Winnie the Pooh teddy bear with its rotund little belly and short red top.

Answer: A hug

Other examples of collective nouns can include a murder of crows, a herd of cattle, or a sloth of bears; the list for the animal kingdom is endless. A group of teddy bears is called a hug. Teddy bears are part of our childhood, and if taken care of properly, can follow us into adulthood, always available if we want a quiet hug when we are feeling low. You can talk to him (or her) and he will always listen and will agree with anything you say. Age doesn't matter!

Answer: Louis Vuitton

The Steiff teddy bear wears a hat, scarf and carries a suitcase, all with the distinctive Louis Vuitton monogram on a brown background. The pattern was designed by Loius Vuitton's son in 1896 in honour of his father and is an iconic symbol of the brand.

It has the initials "LV" as well as a number of small floral motifs. The bear was made in 2000 and sold by auction house Christie's in Monaco for a staggering $2.1 million dollars. The 45cm tall bear was bought by Jessie Kim and now lives inside the Teddy Bear Museum at Jeju in Korea.

Answer: November 7th

"Hug a Bear Day" is the special time when toy shops, museums and arctophiles celebrate the love they have for their small friends. Although not widely supported, it is still an important and fun event and some people take it very seriously. If you haven't got a teddy bear then why not adopt one? Personally speaking, I do not need to wait for a certain date in the year to give my teddy bear a hug!