Why do children usually receive bears as the first stuffed toys? And why are toy bears called "Teddy"? Look no further than America's 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt.

In November 1902, President Roosevelt was in Mississippi trying to settle a boundary dispute between the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. During the trip, Roosevelt went bear hunting but had little luck. Others in his party, trying to accommodate the President, captured the cub of a Louisiana black bear for him to shoot. But the thought of firing at a helpless bear seemed unsporting, so the President spared the animal's life and set it free.

A famous political cartoonist for the Washington Star, Clifford Berryman, drew a cartoon titled, "Drawing the Line in Mississippi", which used the story of the President refusing to shoot the bear as a metaphor for how he dealt with the boundary dispute. The cartoon featured Teddy Roosevelt, rifle in hand, turning his back on a cute, cowering baby bear.

Morris Michtom, a toy store owner, was inspired by the cartoon. Intending it as just a display piece, he placed a handmade bear in his toy store window along with a copy of the cartoon from the newspaper. To Michtom's surprise, he was besieged by customers eager to buy the bear. He asked for and received President Roosevelt's permission to use his name for the hand-sewn bears that he and his wife made, and the teddy bear was born!