The Answer:

According to the History Channel, credit for the teddy bear goes to Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose, in 1902. Morris, a small novelty shop owner from Brooklyn, N.Y., had the idea, and Rose stitched it together.

Michtom got the idea from a Washington Post cartoon based on a hunting trip U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt went on while settling a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana.

Michtom sent a bear to Roosevelt and asked his permission to use the president's name. Roosevelt agreed and Michtom, along with a wholesaling company called Butler Brothers, began to mass-produce the toy bears.

—The Editors