November 16: Party with a Bear

November 16 is Have a Party with Your Bear Day. Although some sources refer to it as Have a Party with Your Teddy Bear Day, it is not to be confused with Teddy Bear Picnic Day (July 10), Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day (October 11), or Teddy Bear Day (September 9). Nor is it the same as the Winnie the Pooh Day (January 18).

Bears are mammals that are primarily herbivores, but most of the eight species do occasionally eat meat. The exception is polar bears whose primary diet consists of seals. It is not known when or why Have a Party with Your Bear Day started. However, because all bears spend a period of hibernation, could it be possible that the day was designed to spend time with bears before they began their annual sleep?

Because most sources do not specify the type of bear with whom you are to party, you might want to consider that the Urban Dictionary defines bear as “A term used by gay men to describe a husky, large man with a lot of body hair.” However, when asking to party with a gay colleague, make sure that he is husky as well as hairy. A thin, hairy gay man is an otter. And, to the best of my knowledge, there is no specific day on which to honor otters.

It is not likely that you would desire to party with a large herbivorous mammal who might decide to eat you. Nor might you have time to set up a party with your favorite husky, hairy man. Therefore, your best option might be to invite your teddy bear for a party.

Teddy bears are a ninth species of bear that are not recognized by the scientific community. Their evolution began with the publication of a Clifford K. Berryman editorial cartoon which was published in the Washington Post on 16 November 1902. The cartoon was inspired by President Teddy Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a bear that had been tied to a tree.
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Morris Michtom saw the cartoon and created a new toy—a stuffed bear—which, with the President’s permission, he marketed as the “Teddy Bear.”

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Photo Caption: Two dancing brown Alaskan bears in Calumet, Michigan. 1906. (top) Clifford K. Berryman editorial cartoon published on 16 November 1902. (bottom)

Although Today in History is primarily student written, there are some days when we do not have a student author. You will enjoy another student entry tomorrow.

Posted on November 16, 2013 by stevenlberg
Categories: American History: Modern
Tags: science, United States

8 Responses

Mohamed Shuman says:

16 November 2012 at 1:13 am

This is the most epic post on today in history so far!

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Katelyn Pollack says:

26 November 2012 at 10:44 pm

Although Theodore Roosevelt may have been honored for the sparing of the life of a helpless bear, he is not quite the poster child for animal rights activism. Shortly after the end of his presidency, in March of 1909, Teddy Roosevelt set off on a safari in east and central Africa. His group consisted of famous hunters and explorers and scientists. Roosevelt also brought four tons of salt for preserving animal hides, a lucky rabbit’s foot given to him by boxer John L. Sullivan, and an assortment of weaponry.
Roosevelt and his companions killed or trapped approximately 11,400 different types of animals, including 512 big game animals, also six rare white rhinos. Tons of salted animals and their skins were shipped to Washington and the quantity was so large that it took years to mount them all, and the Smithsonian shared many duplicate animals with other museums. He later wrote about the trip in the book African Game Trails, and described the excitement of the chase, the people he met, and all the game he brought back.

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Jennifer Orzel says:

30 November 2012 at 8:23 pm

Partying with an actual bear would have been possible for the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. During World War II, the soldiers of the company adopted the Syrian brown bear cub, which had been found near Hamadan, Iran, and sold to them by a local boy for some canned meat tins. They named him Wojtek, and he became the unofficial mascot of the units stationed nearby. An image of a bear carrying an artillery shell was approved as the official emblem of the 22nd Company after Wojtek had helped move ammunition during the Battle of Monte Cassino. For the soldiers who adopted him, a party with Wojtek could have been rather fun since he liked to wrestle, enjoyed smoking cigarettes, and favored beer.

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Aaron Dowd says:

3 December 2012 at 11:57 am

The Story of the Cartoon is as interesting in itself. President Roosevelt, visiting Mississippi to settle a border dispute, decided to go out hunting for the day. After several hours, he still hadn’t bagged anything, when one of his aides discovered a lost bear cub wandering through the woods. Catching it, he tied it to a tree, and brought the President to it – here was his trophy for the day! To Roosevelt’s eternal credit, he couldn’t bring himself to shoot the defenseless cub, and ordered it to be set free. The press pack following Roosevelt’s visit heard about the story, and it inspired cartoonist Clifford Berryman to draw a cartoon of the incident, entitled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi.” Roosevelt’s aide went out and caught the bear, just so Roosevelt would have something to shoot. I don’t understand the logic in that but I am sure it was simply out of respect.

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Alan Hammell says:

7 December 2012 at 1:10 am

As I prepare to write my comment, I want to apologize to you the reader, and my lovely partner Tyler, who is ever so nicely staring over my shoulder as I research this.

The term “Bear”, in the LGBT community, is a slang term that refers to a larger but not necessarily overweight male who has a rugged, groomed, masculine appearance with a hairy body and facial hair. This look of masculinity can often be affiliated with a cartoon artist’s perception of a Lumberjack. Being a “Bear” is a subculture in the homosexual/bisexual male community and has more bearing than just their appearance and like for leather; but in fact links to and makes up their personality traits and their way of life.
Many other male body types stem from this term, including (but not limited to) “Polar Bears” whom have gray hair and are the older versions of a “Bear”, “Cubs” which are a younger smaller version who shall one day become a “Bear”, ”Chubs” an overweight or obese hairy male, “Otters” tend to be slimmer versions usually on a much smaller frame, and everyone’s favorite Urban Dictionary version the “honey badger”, who tends to be very trendy, upfront and overwhelming.
As Dr. Berg stated “to the best of my knowledge, there is no specific day on which to honor otters” is an accurate assumption, as there are no published parties on November 16, diversely including these members of society.

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David Miller says:

7 December 2012 at 3:45 pm

This particular post was very insightful and entertaining to read.

The teddy bear is truly an iconic animal of the United States. Build-A-Bear, founded by Maxine Clark in 1997, is just one example of how popular the teddy bear has become. The concept behind building your own teddy bear caught on relatively quickly and has become a favorite stuffed. Even though it was founded in the United States, its popularity has spread worldwide. Build-A-Bear takes pride in their goal to “grant an exclusive franchise per country.”

In contrast, the iconic animal of ancient Egypt was without a doubt the cat. There were many other prominent animals they believed to be deities, but the cat was by far the most notable. In ancient Egypt, cats would be mummified to journey into the afterlife just as humans were. Egyptians would carve statues and adorn them with jewels to show their appreciation for the animal. Interestingly though, they were not keen on the export of cats, quite opposite to the expansion of the teddy bear. Ancient Egypt had a special sector of government dedicated to prevent the export of cats, and also protect them. If someone was found to have killed the iconic feline, their penalty would be death.

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Jessica Linderman says:

8 December 2012 at 7:53 pm

Toys have existed since children have. If you look back into history you find figurines have existed since the prehistoric period. The suspected oldest figurine is the Venus of Willendorf. To say these are toys is not possible since we have no way of knowing for sure. It has been hypothesized that the figurines are idols, priestesses, charms, art or even toys. The Venus figures were named due to their obese and “ugly” body shape, a way of making fun. There is no way to know is these were really toys, but the idea that humans have made figurines, like teddy bears for so long is fascinating.

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alex mott says:

9 December 2012 at 7:10 pm

After reading this i couldn’t help but laugh to believe a teacher would post such a thing. But with a more serious issue. Gay rights have been a hotly debated topic that has been in the news for as long as i can remember. No matter what your belief is everyone has the right to be happy, America i think is finally listening to the minority group on this topic. Same sex marriage is legal in 9 states and was on the ballot in many more. Also the supreme court has been looking into the issue because as of right now same sex couples don’t receive the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples which many deem unfair. Baehr v. Miike was a court case in hawaii in 1993 were hawaiis highest court ruled that it was discrimination to ban same sex couples getting married.

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