The History and Creation of The Teddy Bear

Teddy bears have been around for a very long time and still they remain a very popular gift item and a favourite toy for  children. They are the choice item to gift someone on Valentine’s Day. Some might say that this is a clichés but clichés  become clichés for a reason. You cannot look a cute, soft cuddly teddy bear and not fall in love with it. The origin of the teddy bear is more political then romantic. A lot of people do not know that the toy gets its name from the  former president of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, better known as Teddy Roosevelt. Initially the toy was actually  called teddy’s bear and over time came to be known simply as a teddy bear. So why was a stuffed animal named after a  president.

The story begins on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi. There were a number of different hunters who were taking part in the  hunting trip and most of them already had experience with the sport. Roosevelt’s attendants chased down an American Black  bear with the help of hounds and then clubbed and tied it to a willow tree. The attendants invited the president to shoot the  bear but he was averse to the idea. He did however give instructions that the bear be put down so that it could be released  from its misery.

Clifford Berryman a cartoonist for the Washington Post did a cartoon on the incident. The cartoon depicted the black bear  lassoed by a white handler and a disgusted Roosevelt turning away. This image had strong political over tones. In the initial  cartoons the bear was an adult but in later ones the cartoonist depicted him as smaller and cuter. Morris Mitchom was  inspired by the bear depicted in the cartoon and had an idea to make the toy. Simultaneously in Germany the Stieff firm was  also making a stuffed bear.

The toy maker Mitchom received permission from the president for the use of his name. He made a small stuffed bear and put it  in his window with a sign proclaiming it was “teddys bear”. The toy was a huge success. Ladies could be spotted carrying it  with them everywhere. You could say they were the original Chihuahuas. Theodore Roosevelt even used the teddy bear as a  mascot during his re-election campaign. Who would have thought that an incident on a hunting trip would inspire a creation  that has lasted till today.

Some Information about Rust on Train Set tracks

Miniature train sets are very popular among children and adults alike. In fact there are a number of people who  actually collect model train sets as a hobby. This hobby is an extremely competitive one and lot of people do spend a lot of  money not only buying new and vintage sets but also on the repair of the sets they already have.

The biggest problem these sets face where maintenance is concerned is in case of rust. Since all the sets have a  large number of metallic part rust is a fairly common occurrence. The rust that forms of the movable parts of the engine and  bogies as well as that which forms on the tracks can be very unsightly. It makes the set look old and damaged not to mention  that certain rusted parts may even fall off rendering that part of the set unusable. The rust on the tracks is extremely  harmful mainly because it can be the reason for malfunctioning of the trains and can even lead to dangerous short circuiting  which could have unforeseeable problems. This problem is most severe in the O scale trains track, the largest track among all  the other scales. Especially for the O gauge trains track it is very important to clean out the rust immediately.

If the rust is mainly light and patchy and not too widespread, then you need to deal with it differently than with  advanced rust. For the leaning of the rust you will necessarily need a rust remover that can be commercially purchased. On  the parts of the track on which you can see the rust forming you should put about 10 drops on each spot and let it stay  there, setting, for about three minutes. After the 3 minutes you should take a wire brush and start brushing off the visible  rust. The brushing must be done in a gentle but thorough manner. You should also keep brushing until you can see the metal  surface underneath. The last step is to wipe off all the rust debris with a clean and soft cloth.

If the rust is too much, then you should take the badly rusted pieces and place them in a flat, plastic container and  submerge them completely in rust remover. The manufacturer of the remover gives directions as to how much time they should be  left in the solution before you can start brushing. You must remember to follow these directions to the letter. After they  have been soaked for the appropriate amount of time you can take them out and brush away the rust in a vigorous manner.