27 January 2016

Winnie the Pooh's toothless skull to go on display

The skull of the bear that inspired AA Milne to write Winnie the Pooh has gone on public display for the first time.

The cuddly fictional bear was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that son Christopher Robin enjoyed visiting and feeding honey in London Zoo during the Twenties.

Winnie died in 1934 but her skull was preserved by the Royal College of Surgeons and is now being exhibited in its Hunterian Museum in London. So many children fed her sweet treats that she lost many teeth in old age.
Yes, I know it's not Winnie the Pooh's skull, but I prefer this title.  And Winnie the Pooh also ate lots of "hunny," so may also have become edentulous.

3 comments:

  1. I had no idea that Winnie the Pooh was inspired by a real bear! I knew about the son, but not the bear.

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  2. Is there any information as to why the original Winnie had no teeth?

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    Replies
    1. I thought the boldfaced sentence was the explanation.

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