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If not friend, why friend shaped?
I have the same question, but reverse: Why are we making teddy bears bear-shaped?
Because they are called teddy bears. It wouldnt make sense if a teddy bear would have the shape of the sun or a cat
Thanks, that perfectly explains why we decided to use an apex predator for our cuddly toys.
Teddy Roosevelt opted not to shoot a bear that someone caught for him to shoot (because it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel; iirc the bear was immobilised). The press at the time got hold of this story, turned it into a story about pity/mercy (neither applied, the bear was killed anyway, just not by getting shot by Roosevelt) and an enterprising individual made a toy based on it, which became more popular than expected.
The popularity of the toy was also a boost to Roosevelt's popularity, which is why at least one presidential candidate at the time tried to get something similar going for himself, but possums just aren't cuddly and a copy of a popular thing rarely manages to reach the heights of popularity the thing it tries to copy got.
Huh, thanks. I didn't think there to be an actual answer. I figured, it was just a shape that's easy to manufacture and good for cuddling...