Otters and Science News: WINNIE THE POOH CAN'T BE PLAYGROUND MASCOT BECAUSE HE WEARS NO PANTS say city councillors in Polish city of Tuszyn - See 100-year old pictures of the real Canadian bear Winnie the Pooh, a mascot with the British army during World War I

What next? Should pets be forced to wear pants in public?

CBC - Some town councillors in Poland don't want beloved storybook character Winnie the Pooh as a playground mascot.

The so-called "bear of very little brain" apparently doesn't have enough clothes.

The tubby little cubby, based on an actual bear named after Winnipeg, was suggested at a meeting of the council in Tuszyn, a small town in central Poland, to be the face of a new public playground, according to media reports in the United Kingdom.

THE REAL WINNIE

That prompted anger from some councillors, who called Pooh "inappropriate."

“The problem with that bear is it doesn’t have a complete wardrobe,” said Coun. Ryszard Cichy. "It is half naked, which is wholly inappropriate for children. [Poland’s fictional bear] is dressed from head to toe, unlike Pooh who is only dressed from the waist up."

It was suggested that the playground be named after Mis Uszatek, a Polish children's character — also a bear — that is fully dressed.

The meeting of officials was sneakily recorded by a councillor and leaked to local press, according to the Croatian Times.
Continue reading, including 100 year-old photos of the real Winnie the Pooh.

Pooh made his debut in a collection of stories by A.A. Milne in 1926. At that time, he was completely in the buff. In 1961, when Walt Disney licensed the rights and made a series of cartoon films about him, Pooh was outfitted with his now familiar red shirt.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman offered his own irreverent take on the issue in a statement sent to CBC News on Friday.

"Clearly, Winnie is a cartoon bear who doesn’t wear pants, but I’d like to note that the beloved Disney characters Donald Duck and Chip and Dale (the Rescue Rangers) are also pant-less, Mickey Mouse doesn’t wear a shirt, and Tony the Tiger is nearly nude," he stated. "Should they be banned as well? Winnipeg is a tolerant and accepting community, and I hope that Winnie continues to teach children about kindness and friendship for years to come."

The story of Pooh bear

Lt. Harry Colebourn, a Canadian veterinarian and soldier with the Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps, came across an orphaned female bear cub on Aug. 24, 1914.

When his troop's train stopped in White River, Ont., he met a hunter who had shot and killed the bear cub's mother, without whom the cub was almost certain to die.

Colebourn offered the hunter $20 for the cub, whom he named Winnipeg Bear to commemorate the city where he had lived before the war. The name was soon shortened to Winnie.

Winnie accompanied Colebourn to England, where the cub played with Canadian soldiers during their off-hours in their encampment on the Salisbury Plains.

Colebourn later donated Winnie to the London Zoo, where the bear inspired the creation of A.A. Milne's famous children's book character. Winnie died at the zoo in 1934.

Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park is home to the Pooh Gallery, which houses a permanent collection of Winnie the Pooh artifacts and memorabilia.

Featured prominently in the gallery is the painting Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot by E.H. Shepard, the original illustrator of Milne's series.

A bronze statue of Colebourn and Winnie is located at the park's nature playground.

Source

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnie-the-pooh-spanked-by-polish-council-for-not-wearing-pants-1.2844655

100 year old photographs

of the real Winnie the Pooh

Canadian bear cub was smuggled into Britain during First World War

Lieutenant Harry Colebourn bought the animal on his way to fight in Europe

It became a mascot for his regiment, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade

Soldier presented it to London Zoo when he was sent to Western Front

Winnipeg, named after Colebourn's home city, became huge attraction