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Wednesday, May 2, 2018

who is Arctophile ~ something on bears and teddies !!


A post on Inuka involved some searching on the web – throwing a lot on bears. If you are one of the investors who takes  comfort in the fact that the economy is doing well and the recession is far from imminent, think again. Historically, the stock market has topped out well before a recession has even begun. That is what bear market means !!

893.35 quadrillion to one. That’s the likelihood of what’s happened to 20-year-old Dylan McWilliams. He was bitten by a shark, attacked by a bear, and bitten by a rattlesnake—all in just over three years. Last week, McWilliams of Grand Junction in western Colorado was body boarding off the island of Kauai, Hawaii, when he felt something hit his leg. "I saw the shark underneath me. I started kicking at it—I know I hit it at least once—and swam to shore as quickly as I could,” McWilliams told the BBC. The wound required seven stitches and the teeth marks suggested it was a tiger shark.   Last July, a black bear bit him on the head while he was sleeping on a camping trip in Colorado. He escaped by poking the bear in its eye. Park authorities caught the bear, found McWilliams’ blood under the bear's claws, and put the animal down. It took nine staples to the back of his head to close McWilliams’ wounds.

Remember seeing Phil Edmonds at Chepauk in that Pongal test in 1985 whence India lost badly.  Phillipe-Henri Edmonds, from Middlesex played for India fro a while and upon  retiring  became a successful, albeit controversial, corporate executive.  Edmonds had a stunning debut in Test cricket. Brought on to bowl in mid-afternoon, he took 5 for 17 in his first 12 overs of Test cricket.  He was known to bowl the odd bouncer when riled. Upon searching understand that – ‘Edmund’  is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ēad, meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and mund, meaning "protector".  .. .. .. and Edmonds are in short ‘Ted’. 

One may or may like bears ~ have seen them on roads of Faridabad, chained and brought along like a dog !!  Teddy bear is a soft toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtomin the U.S. and Richard Steiff in Germany in the early years of the 20th  century, and named  after a famous US President,   the teddy bear became an iconic children's toy, celebrated in story, song, and film.  Since the creation of the first teddy bears which sought to imitate the form of real bear cubs, "teddies" have greatly varied in form, style, color, and material. They have become collector's items, with older and rarer "teddies" appearing at public auctions.  Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are often given to adults to signify love, congratulations, or sympathy.

Miles away, in US - a family who lost a teddy bear belonging to a three-year-old has offered  $500 to anyone who can help them find the stuffed bear. Amy Early, a speech-language pathologist, on Facebook said that they lost the bear while for a vacation on April 13 and she was desperate for its return... .. and did you know that there is a special word for those who adore ‘teddies’... ...

Arctophile (noun)  means ~ a  person who collects or is very fond of teddy bears. Arctophile,  combines the Greek words arctos (bear) and philos (loving/fond of).

Sept 9th  is Teddy Bear Day — the official day for  people  to get best stuffed pal and make him feel special!  Teddy bears were named after  U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt ("Teddy" is a cute nickname for "Theodore"), when he refused to kill a bear during a hunting trip in Mississippi. People learned what happened from a cartoon that was in the newspaper. After seeing the cartoon, a store owner in Brooklyn, New York, made a stuffed toy bear that he called "Teddy’s Bear" — which became instantly popular.

It is stated that Teddy bears were actually made in Germany. At about the same time teddy bears were becoming popular in the United States, a toy maker in Germany named Margarete Steiff also started making cute stuffed bears. An American visiting Germany saw the bears and ordered a whole bunch of them to be sold in the United States. The Steiff Toy Company still makes teddy bears today — over 100 years later!

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
26th Apr 2018.

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