I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that teddy bears hold a variety of world records, but in case you are not up to date on these amazing statistics, we thought it might be fun to review some of them for you.
One thing you must keep in mind however, is that world records are meant to be broken, and while we are reporting on the most recent information available to us, it is entirely possible that some of these records have already been challenged and awarded to someone recently.
If you are hoping to achieve a world record in the famous Guinness Book of World Records, be aware that it can take months to get it accepted and approved by Guiness, then it may be several additional months before the new annual issue is printed.
Whether the records we are reviewing now are still intact may be in question, but they are still rather impressive, none the less.
WORLD’S LARGEST TEDDY BEAR
We chose this category to start with, as it is one we are intimately familiar with.
The World’s largest jointed teddy bear was actually created and constructed by this author and his good friend William Hayes.
The year was 1989 and the goal was to build it and exhibit it at the 2nd Annual Walt Disney World Teddy Bear & Doll Convention in Florida.
With the help of several volunteers, construction got underway.
A truckload of Styrofoam was delivered to the Hayes’ farm near Owosso, Michigan.
The foam billets were cut into manageable lengths, then glued into large blocks.
We then used crosscut saws to rough out the shapes needed (2 body sections, head, ears, arms, legs) and used smaller hand saws to obtain the finished shapes. An acrylic plush fabric was then applied to complete this giant bear.
He was given the name Yankee Doodle Teddy, and if he were in a standing position he would reach 32 feet tall. Seated, he is 19 feet from the ground to the top of his head. His massive hat puts him at 24 feet.
At Disney’s request, a Limited Edition of regular size duplicates were produced and offered at the convention.
The following year the bear was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Note that we stated our bear was the world’s largest jointed teddy bear.
A record for the world’s largest teddy bear was set in 2008 with the introduction of Evan, a cloth bear that measures 61 feet tall.
He was introduced by Jason Lynch, president of the E.G. Bear Company, headquartered in West Virginia.
WORLD’S SMALLEST BEAR
 While it required a large trailer to transport the world’s largest bear, the world’s smallest bear could be concealed in the palm of your hand and have lots of room for a sandwich!
The Guinness World Record for the smallest hand-sewn teddy bear goes to Tiny Ted, who stands just under two tenths of one inch tall.
He actually measures .177 inches (4.5 mm).
It is even more impressive to note that Tiny Ted is fully jointed!
He was made by Cheryl Moss of South Africa and now resides in the Cheju Island Teddy Bear Museum in Korea. As you might expect, he is displayed under a magnifying glass.
TEDDY BEAR SKY DIVING WORLD RECORD
You may recall some time ago when sky diver Felix Baumgartner set the world record fall at 127,851 feet in a spectacular drop that made headlines around the world.
A teddy bear named Babbage has now broken that record with a skydiving fall of 127,953 feet – nearly 102,000 feet father than Baumgartner’s record.
It was accomplished by high altitude balloonist David Akerman.
He strapped the bear into a launch capsule with camera and sent him up in the air with a weather balloon filled with hydrogen at a launch site in Berkshire, England.
A computer system released Babbage at the right altitude to achieve the record, then recorded pictures as the bear descended back to earth.
WORLD RECORD TEDDY BEAR GIFTING
We would be remiss if we did not include our favorite organization, Good Bears of the World, and their amazing gifting of teddy bears to children and senior citizens in need.
I am sure that most of our readers are familiar with this organization, but for the benefit of those who are not, check out their website or read all about them in this publication.
This non profit group has dens across the globe and provides a teddy bear to sick, injured and underprivileged children and to lonely seniors.
When there is a world tragedy, Good Bears sends teddy bears by the case load to be distributed and provide the magical healing power of a teddy bear. They are also provided for distribution by firemen, policemen and emergency workers who use them in traumatic situations.
Because there are a large number of Good Bear Dens around the world, it would be difficult to come up with actual numbers, but just in the past 13 years the dens have gifted over 370,000 teddy bears! That’s an average of 30,834 per year. The highest number for one year was in 2005 when a total of 42,889 bears were gifted. The year 2012 nearly tied that record with 41,275 teddies distributed around the world.
You can participate in this heart-warming project in a number of ways. Visit their website and become a member. It can make an enormous difference in the life of someone who needs a hug badly.
A NEW WORLD
RECORD!
The following information was received from the Chelsea Bear Company about several
world records they have set
The Chelsea Teddy Bear
Company just set another new world record on Saturday, July 30, 2011.
As you may know, we have
appeared in the Guinness World Record book twice before for "Worlds Largest
Teddy Bear Mosaic". The event beat our previous records and the kids attending
had a great time. We reproduced the World Wildlife Fund logo to promote the 50th
anniversary of WWF, a great non-profit organization.
It's official, The Chelsea Teddy
Bear Company is now home to a Guinness World Record for the "World's Largest
Teddy Bear Mosaic"
Local resident Jack Long came up with the idea for the
flag. The flag was used on the back of a float he created for the Chelsea Fair
parade. His daughter rode on the float in the parade as part of her run for fair
queen.
The Chelsea Teddy Bear Company was her sponsor, and we donated the teddy
bears.
Three hundred and sixty teddy bears were used to give the final
dimensions of the flag mosaic 46.5 square feet. That is a lot of teddy bears
and a pretty big flag.
The Worlds Largest Peace Sign
The symbol was
made of Teddy Bears in Sept. 2008.
Area residents along with hundreds of bears from the Chelsea Teddy Bear Company were formed to create a peace sign.
Everyone placed their bear in the circle while an overhead crane photographer documented the event.
Not Exactly the Largest or the Bluest Bear
 What most of Denver refers to as “The Big Blue Bear” is not a record setter for being the largest.
But this 40-foot tall bear is still relatively new to the Denver landscape and there’s no denying that it has quickly become an iconic image to residents and tourists alike.
Created by artist Lawrence Argent, “I See What You Mean” was designed to bring a sense of whimsy curiosity to the Colorado Convention Center in Denver and it certainly has succeeded.
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