Smithsonian Magazine on MSN16d
How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America's National Toy
If ‘Teddy Bear,’ why not ‘Billy Possum’?” That was the question posed by a political cartoon in the January 10, 1909, issue of the Atlanta Constitution. Inspired by a highly anticipated “possums and ...
Smithsonian Magazine17d
How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America’s National Toy
They cleared the way by dumping hundreds of stuffed animals out the sixth-floor windows. According to newspaper reports, neighborhood children flocked to the scene to see the flaming teddy bears ...