Q 01/05

The teddy bear is named after which US president?

A) Theodore Roosevelt

B) Thomas Jefferson

C) Franklin D. Roosevelt

D) William Taft

Answer · why

A) Theodore Roosevelt

He loathed the nickname 'Teddy'; the toy took it anyway after a 1902 hunting trip in Mississippi.

Q 02/05

Why did the president refuse to shoot the bear on the 1902 Mississippi hunt that gave the toy its name?

A) It was a protected species

B) It had been tied to a tree

C) It was a nursing mother

D) He had bagged his limit

Answer · why

B) It had been tied to a tree

His attendants had cornered, clubbed and tied a black bear to a willow tree; a Washington Post cartoon of the scene ran a few days later.

Q 03/05

Which cartoonist's 1902 Washington Post drawing of Roosevelt sparing a bear sparked the teddy bear craze?

A) Winsor McCay

B) Thomas Nast

C) Clifford K. Berryman

D) Rube Goldberg

Answer · why

C) Clifford K. Berryman

The bear in the cartoon shrank into a cute cub in later versions, which is more or less what happened to the toy.

Q 04/05

What did Morris Michtom sell at the Brooklyn business where he displayed the first 'Teddy's bear'?

A) Books

B) Hardware

C) Suits

D) Candy

Answer · why

D) Candy

The Brooklyn shop was at 404 Tompkins Avenue; Michtom went on to found the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

Q 05/05

Which toy company did Morris Michtom found on the back of his teddy bear?

A) Ideal

B) Hasbro

C) Mattel

D) Gund

Answer · why

A) Ideal

Ideal went on to make Rubik's Cube, Betsy Wetsy and Mr. Machine before being swallowed by CBS Toys in the 1980s.