Peter Rabbit Was The First Stuffed Toy To Be Patented, In 1903

Plush Animal Lovers Day is a day of celebration that is held every year to show your favorite stuffed toy some extra special love and appreciation.

• The original origins of the day’s creation are vague but there is an unconfirmed Urban Legend that the day first came about after a collectibles dealer named Royal Selangor came up with the idea of a Teddy Bears Picnic Day in the late eighties.
• The first commercial concern to create stuffed toys was the German Steiff company in 1880.
•  Steiff used new technology developed for upholstery to make their stuffed toys
•  In 1903 Richard Steiff designed a soft bear that differed from earlier traditional rag dolls because it was made of plush furlike fabric.
•  At the same time in the USA, Morris Michtom created the first teddy bear, after being inspired by a drawing of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt with a bear cub
• The character Peter Rabbit from English author Beatrix Potter was the first stuffed toy to be patented, in 1903.
• Sock monkeys are handmade stuffed monkeys made out of socks that first appeared during the Great Depression.
•  Amigurumi is a Japanese type of handcrafted knitted or crocheted stuffed toys.  They are typically made to look cute with over-sized heads and undersized extremities.
• In 2003, Amigurumi were collected and sold on crafting websites like Etsy.
• There are many brands of stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies, a line of stuffed beanbag animals, that was started in 1993.
•  Several marketing strategies, such as keeping them at a low price, introducing a wide variety of Beanie Babies, giving them names, birthdays, and personalities, and retiring certain Beanie Babies after a while (thus giving them collector’s value) made them widely popular for years after they were introduced.
• Webkinz stuffed animals were created by Ganz in 2005.  Each Webkinz toy comes with a unique “Secret Code” that gives access to the Webkinz World website and a virtual version of the toy for online play.
• Disney‘s Club Penguin and Build-A-Bearville from Build-A-Bear Workshop are other online worlds with content that can be unlocked from codes found on associated stuffed toys.
• Stuffed animals encourage nurturing.   After being bossed around all day, children want a chance to play the adult. Stuffed animals make great recipients of a child’s pretend care and discipline.
• Stuffed animals are immune to the letdowns of life. No matter how many times they are dropped, sat on or left alone, they always greet their owners with heartwarming, reassuring smiles.
• Studies have shown that more than 50 percent of Americans are still hanging on to the teddy bears they had when they were growing up.
• Studies have indicated that teddy bears can, however, help kids overcome psychological trauma and fill a void in their lives.
• In Japan there is a travel agency that is focused entirely on stuffed toys. Have your stuffies gone tired of endlessly playing with you? They can have a nice break traveling around the world.   The basic service of the Unagi Travel is to give the stuffies a tour around Tokyo. But if you’re extra generous you can send your stuffed friend to Paris, London and other cities around Europe and even the USA.
• Winnie the pooh is one of the most famous stuffed bears. He was born during the 40s of the 20th century. He is so popular that in 2006 he even got his own star in the walk of fame in Hollywood.

Sources:

Days of the Year

Sanimal Weebly

Douglas Cuddle Toy

The Zoo Factory

Stuffed Party