Original photo by avtk/ Shutterstock
While the teddy bear has been cherished by generations of children since the early 20th century, its designation as Mississippi's state toy has more to do with the stuffed animal's origins than any particularly special affection lingering in the hearts of Magnolia State residents.
In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt went on a bear hunting trip near Onward, Mississippi, but had very little luck bagging a big game trophy. Nevertheless, the Rough Rider wasn't one to take the easy way out, and his refusal to shoot a captured black bear became national news by way of a Clifford Berryman cartoon in The Washington Post. From there, a Brooklyn candy shop owner began mass marketing "Teddy's Bear." Stuffed bears designed by the German doll company Steiff also helped make the plush toy a hot item in the United States.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a fibNew Jersey is the lone state without a song. Although Jersey-born songwriter Red Mascara’s ditty "I'm From New Jersey" was approved for the purpose by the state Legislature in 1972, Governor William Cahill pronounced his dislike for the song and vetoed the bill.
Fast-forward a century later, when longtime Mississippi teacher and librarian Sarah Doxey-Tate set about drumming up formal recognition of the teddy bear as the state toy to celebrate the centennial of President Roosevelt's hunting trip and his conservationist principles. The cause was taken up by legions of letter-writing schoolchildren and Representative Steve Holland, who introduced a bill in January 2002 in the Mississippi Legislature to honor the teddy. The bill passed the House in unanimous fashion, and while two state senators were grumpy enough to give a thumbs-down, there was no slowing the momentum that propelled the snuggly stuffed bear to the status of official state toy that March.
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Maryland's official state sport is jousting.
Officials tend to go with a choice reflective of the region when it comes to declaring a state food, flower, or animal — so how did Maryland wind up with the medieval pastime of jousting as its state sport? Jousting apparently made the transatlantic leap soon after the colony of Maryland began in 1634, but its staying power is in large part due to the tournaments that served as fundraisers in farming communities after the Civil War. Established as the state sport in 1962, jousting remains the focus of regional clubs and exhibitions, although competitions now take the form of using a lance to snare dangling rings instead of goring opponents. Meanwhile, residents who aren’t inclined to climb on a horse can exhibit their state pride by partaking in other activities: Lacrosse was named the official team sport in 2004, reflecting the success of Maryland schools like Johns Hopkins University, while walking became the state’s official exercise in 2008.
Tim Ott has written for sites including Biography.com, History.com, and MLB.com, and is known to delude himself into thinking he can craft a marketable screenplay.
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