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German Toymaker Creates A Commemorative Teddy Bear To Honor Angela Merkel

AMARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Angela Merkel is leaving office after nearly 16 years as chancellor of Germany, but her fans have something they can hold on to.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(LET ME BE YOUR) TEDDY BEAR")

ELVIS PRESLEY: (Singing) Oh, baby, let me be your loving teddy bear.

MARTÍNEZ: A German toymaker has created an Angela Merkel teddy bear, complete with a short blond haircut, a crisp red blazer and a beaded necklace.

NOEL KING, HOST:

The teddy bear costs about $200, which is not cheap, but it has sold out. So there have been these political stuffed bears for more than 100 years. In fact, I hadn't known this, but the original teddy bear was named for President Teddy Roosevelt.

HOWARD EHRLICH: Roosevelt was on a trip - hunting trip, actually - in Onward, Miss., November 1, 1902.

MARTÍNEZ: That's Howard Ehrlich of the Theodore Roosevelt Association in Oyster Bay, N.Y.

EHRLICH: The guide on the trip found a baby bear, tied it to a tree. And they said, well, you can shoot this. He said, I can't shoot the bear.

MARTÍNEZ: A famous illustrator, Clifford Berryman, drew a cartoon of Roosevelt refusing to shoot the bear.

EHRLICH: It was published in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. That went, we would say today, viral, if you will. And a couple in Brooklyn, N.Y., owned a small candy store, and they got a great idea. Why don't we make these stuffed animals and name them after Theodore Roosevelt and call them Teddy's Bear?

KING: So they sent one to President Roosevelt asking for permission to use his name.

EHRLICH: And he wrote back saying, you know, if you want to make these bears, fine. But you'll never make any money using my name.

KING: And then the rest was pretty much history.

MARTÍNEZ: There's been a Hillary Clinton bear wearing a pantsuit, a Donald Trump bear with a swoosh of hair across his forehead, and it just proves that cuddles come in every political stripe. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.