Smithsonian Magazine on MSN15d
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 ...
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Opossums: These misunderstood marsupials clean up our yards and even help fight Lyme disease
The Virginia opossum is North America’s only marsupial (a mammal that carries its young in a pouch) and is native to the southern U.S. However, it’s been staging an invasion into Canada ...
Smithsonian Magazine15d
How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America’s National Toy
patenting a “toy in the form of an opossum carrying its young” that would feature a pouch full of baby opossums. Almost as soon as production began, it stalled when Billy Possum landed in the ...