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British Playwright A. A. Milne based the Winnie-the-Pooh stories on the stuffed animals that his own son, Christopher Robin played with as a child. Christopher Robin’s stuffed bear was named after a real bear that Christopher often visited on outings at the London Zoo. Captured near Winnipeg, Canada, this bear was known as “Winnie.” The London Zoo also had a swan named “Pooh” and young Christopher somehow put the names together when naming his beloved stuffed teddy bear. All of young Christopher’s stuffed animals can still be seen today at the New York Public library where they are on exhibit.

A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared on Christmas Eve in 1925, when what became the first chapter of a Christmas story commissioned by London's Evening News. A book version, entitled Winnie-the-Pooh, with the now famous illustrations by E.H. Shepard appeared in 1928 followed by Now We are Six (1927), and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Disney produced a series of short Oscar winning films in the 1950’s that only added to Pooh’s continued popularity.