Everybody loves teddy bears but few of us realize just how far they have spread, how long they've been around, how they are made and why they were even introduced in the first place.    Like the background of many of our most loved children's toys (Barbie, Action Man and the golly-wog dolls being some of the other toys in the upper echelons of children's history), the humble teddy bear has a diverse and rather illustrious history.

Teddy  bears originated from a cartoon made about the United States President Theodore Roosevelt following a hunting trip the President had made in which he had an encounter with a black bear.  An American store owner and toy designer, Morris Michtom, was inspired by the cartoon and came up with the idea to launch a line of 'Teddy's Bears'.  At the exact same time across the Atlantic another toy-designing team released a stuffed-bear toy which was unrelated to Michtom's designs.  In the immediate years that followed other toy companies caught on and the Teddy Bear quickly became the new craze for kids, grown women and even the U.S. President himself.  Popular as fashion accessories, bedroom decorations and christening presents, teddy bears rapidly became a part of 'American culture and ever since they have remained a must-have item for children all over the world.