Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day: October 11th

Celebrate October 11^th with Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day! While some may think you are just totally crazy, your Teddy Bear will likely thank you for it. October 11^th has been set aside for the world to show appreciation for their Teddy Bears. Coworkers can meet your bear and introduce you to theirs.

The Teddy Bear was first introduced in the late months of 1902. The Teddy Bear made its first entrance in Germany and the United Sates of America. The bear began, as a cartoon drawing detailing that Theodore Roosevelt would not shot a cub bear. The cartoon lead to the name Teddy Bear after Theodore Roosevelt. The bear in the cartoon looked very cute and sweet and won the hearts of the people.

Morris and Rose Michtoms made the first Teddy Bear to honor the president after viewing the cartoon. The bear was made in Brooklyn, New York. They gave it the name "teddy's Bear" and put it in the window of their candy store. Customers began asking for the cute little bear for their own. The public had been used to seeing bears on all four paws with scary or mean faces. This bear was different and innocent. The Michtoms and the Butler Brothers began the first Teddy Bear company.

Teddy Bears become very popular and were created in all colors, shapes, and sizes. The name was also shortened not to include the apostrophe. Many companies began getting in on the action. One company that is still very popular today, Gund Manufacturing Corporation, began making Teddy Bears in 1906.

The idea for the Winnie the Pooh bear stories came along in 1921 when a young boy, Christopher Robin Milne got a toy bear from his grandmother. Five years after the present, his father A.A. Milne began to write stories about his son and the bear. The stories became the popular Winnie the Pooh series that we still know today.

Today Teddy Bears are still very popular. There are many huge companies that still make the toy. The highest priced Teddy Bear is the Teddy Girl by Steiff. It sold for $176,000 at an auction in 1994.

In 1999 alone, the Teddy Bear lovers of America bought over $441 million dollars worth of Teddy Bears.

With this kind of money put into the Teddy Bear, who can resist taking one to work with you on October 11?