August 21, 2010

One third of Britons take a teddy bear to bed.

And 25% of men take teddy with them when they travel.
Corrine Sweet, a psychologist, said cuddling a teddy bear was an "important part of our national psyche... it evokes a sense of peace, security and comfort. It’s human nature to crave these feelings from childhood to adult life. It’s not surprising, then, that taking a teddy bear on a business trip is popular. As a bedtime bear evokes feelings of home, warmth, and can help you nod off – just like in babyhood.”

The study also found that the traditional teddy bear was the most popular cuddly toy among adults, with Winnie the Pooh second and Paddington Bear third.
So... it's a special British thing?

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Yes. I need to cuddle my childhood toy to get to sleep.
A little, but I don't really need it and can travel without it.
Only when my human or living animal bedmate isn't around.
No, but I do require extra pillows.
No!

  
pollcode.com free polls

ADDED: This post brought back a long-lost memory. When I was a child, I wanted to be the child that takes a stuffed animal or doll to bed. I had a mental "ideal girl" image in mind. I tried... and failed. I couldn't put up with it. I liked to sleep on my stomach and extend my hands flat under the pillow, and I cared a lot about the underside of the pillow being very cool. I used to turn the pillow over to get the cool side facing down.

50 comments:

Moose said...

Hmm, well now.

What the fuck?

Anonymous said...

Can somebody find a bigotry angle in this post?

I can't wait.

There's got to be one. Everything is about bigotry.

Search your minds, bigot hunters. Tell us how even this little bit fits into the Great Bigot Hunt.

Fred4Pres said...

No wonder Johnny Rotten wants to emigrate to America.

Grow up!

ricpic said...

Is that what the pillow mania is about in so many hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts? Sometimes they're three deep.

MB said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peter Hoh said...

"No" without an exclamation point better expresses my response.

MB said...

So Mr. Bean wasn't doing it for the humor effect.
(grammar typo fix)

Anonymous said...

Come on, bigot hunters. The Great Bigot Hunt requires total concentration.

Where's the bigotry?

Are we intolerant of Britons? Or teddy bears?

Could it be sexism... homophobia... racism... species-ism... ?

Maybe it's about discrimination against business travelers?

It's in there somewhere, bigot hunters. Please apply all your psychic and intellectual forces to fight whatever scourge of intolerance that this represents.

Unknown said...

The only stuffed animals with which I sleep are the pups.

... and, sometimes (No, I better not...)

If I lived with the death panels of NHS, I'd be rather insecure, also.

Wince said...

Cue Andrew Sullivan:

I am bear, hear me roar!

wv-"dammess" = Secret Service radio code for Obama's next State of the Union speech

Irene said...

Thank you, Teddy Roosevelt.

Christy said...

Whoa! Wasn't carrying around a teddy bear part of Sebastian's shtick in Brideshead Revisited? I was charmed, but I took it to be a metaphor for Sebastian's refusal to grow up.

So Shoutingthomas, take your pick, we can have either an alcoholic or a homosexual angle here.

Or could it be that the Brits, envious of our ennobling of that natural Aristocrat, Barack Obama, go to bed dreaming of a return of their own faded Aristocracy.

Trooper York said...

Last year Tipper bought Al a Vermont Teddy Bear for Valentines Day.

He specifically requested the masseuse bear.

He took it on the road with him.

When she saw what it looked like when he got home, she filed for divorce.

Chip Ahoy said...

Aw, bless.

jamboree said...

Wow. Really? I'm very indulgent with whims and I had a favorite childhood sleep toy, but it never seriously occurred to me to sleep with it as an adult.


I do require extra pillows though, as the survey says. In fact, one of my main disappointments in life upon acquiring my first stay-many-nights lover was the "extra arm problem" which doesn't exist with pillows. Whose arm gets mangled and/or crushed during sleep time - unless you buck each other off at at a certain point.

WV: Great name for new diet plan/drug: Thinesis - like Synthesis or Genesis, but for losing weight. Someone snap this up now.

Penny said...

"Come on, bigot hunters. The Great Bigot Hunt requires total concentration."

"The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" may give you some clues, shoutingthomas.

Anonymous said...

What, no option in the poll for an inflatable partner?

There's your bigotry right there!

;)

Gahrie said...

I'm holding out for an animatronic real doll.....

Unknown said...

Irene said...

Thank you, Teddy Roosevelt.

Nice to know the Rough Rider had a bit more of a heart as he grew older.

Kev said...

(the other kev)

After the other day, I thought the subject of yiffing was off limits?

rcocean said...

Can somebody find a bigotry angle in this post?

Are Britons taking "Black Bears" to bed? Of course not. Is the "Winnie the Pooh" black? Of course not. Yet what species of Bear is most prevalent? The Black Bear. But no one loves the "Black Bear". And everyone respects the "Grizzly Bear", sports teams call themselves "Grizzlies" and there's even "Grizzly Adams" - but "Black bears" - forget about it.
Why? The answer is obvious.

And why just Bears? Why aren't Panda's being taken to bed. They're just as cute. The answer is obvious.

Did you ever wonder why Mr. Potatohead was a person of color? The answer is obvious.

Steve Skubinna said...

Good lord. No, don't take a stuffed animal to bed. My ex, however, not only had a bunch of them (which all sat on the bed during the day but were cleared off at night) but she'd always tuck one into my baggage when I traveled.

It always sat on a shelf in order to keep an eye on me, but never shared the bed. As many as she had, even she didn't take them to bed.

Jason (the commenter) said...

As long as the bears consent to the activity and are of age I see no problem with it.

Penny said...

"As long as the bears consent to the activity and are of age I see no problem with it."

Agreed! With 75,000 bears left behind in hotel rooms, how hard can it be for them to find each other?

jr565 said...

Are they taking a stuffed animal to bed,or are they taking a stuffed animal TO BED? (nudge, nudge, wink, wink say no more). Because if it's the latter that's kind of sad and gross at the same time.

jr565 said...

As long as the bears consent to the activity and are of age I see no problem with it.


Yeah but if they can take their bear to bed, why can't they marry it? Whos to say it's wrong?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

...sports teams call themselves "Grizzlies" and there's even "Grizzly Adams" - but "Black bears" - forget about it.

The University of Maine is not amused.

rcocean said...

The "Black Bears"? What a wimpy nickname for the U of M. I suggest the "Black Flies" - Maine's most dreaded and feared inhabitants.

prairie wind said...

Somebody needs to remember that 68.7% of all statistics are made up.

chickelit said...

Winston Churchill culture morphed into Winnie the Pooh culture.

I blame Brian Jones.

Penny said...

Not a "bearist"!

Nor the "barest"...

Please don't hold that against me.

Until you MUST!

Michael in ArchDen said...

So with millions of British teddy bears out there, can Wicket find any worth "nutting on"?

Kensington said...

Nothing wrong with a Teddy Bear. Sometimes I wish I still had my Curious George (even with one arm malformed after a tear and a disastrous follow-up surgery).

Penny said...

"So with millions of British teddy bears out there, can Wicket find any worth "nutting on"?"

YES! Our Wicket doesn't discriminate! He nuts on EVERYONE!

Popville said...

Never a stuffed animal, but yes to this pocket transistor radio under my pillow. Radio has always been my comfort blanket.

The Crack Emcee said...

Bring a gang of that Hen
Some D.S.O.P.
Ooh wee
and light that sticky icky
And we gone do the damn thing now what I'm talking 'bout
We gon' disturb the peace, right now
Yeah, we ain't doing nuttin' but chillin'
We chillin' and nuttin'


"Holiday Inn". by Chingy (Featuring Snoop Dogg & Ludacris)

Penny said...

Crack, relaxing?

I say, "MORE"!

Skyler said...

I guess this explains the whiney boy sailors taken captive by the Iranians a few years ago.

holdfast said...

"Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?"

Two of them, but only only when someone overfeeds the dogs. A wife and two medium size dogs? Bed's full, thanks.

Penny said...

ADDED: This post brought back a long-lost memory. When I was a child, I wanted to be the child that takes a stuffed animal or doll to bed. I had a mental "ideal girl" image in mind. I tried... and failed. I couldn't put up with it. I liked to sleep on my stomach and extend my hands flat under the pillow, and I cared a lot about the underside of the pillow being very cool. I used to turn the pillow over to get the cool side facing down."

Ohhhhhhhhh Kay, OK! EMERGENCY! Should I call Mick Jagger, Lem, or Althouse?

Maybe D.? "All of the above"?

You know, you can't always get what you want....

The Crack Emcee said...

Whoa! Um, Penny dear, I um,...

I Ain't Doin' Nuttin' (Which Is So Unlike Me)

Sorry to let you down

Synova said...

When the kids were little stuffed toys got sent with Dad. Not teddy bears, though. Cows all named "moo-moo."

I think he liked that.

Penny said...

"Sorry to let you down".

You aren't letting me down, Crack.

Call me silly? I was attempting to lift you up?

Palladian said...

When I was a child I slept with a plush Himalayan cat that I named Coddy. Later Coddy was joined by a squishy plush rabbit that I called Bun-bun.

This stopped when I discovered that it was much more fun sleeping with other boys.

DADvocate said...

When I was a child I had a set of Teddy bears, Papa, Momma and Baby bear. For the same reason as Ann I could never sleep with them. If I tried I'd wake up with one of them under me causing great discomfort. None of my 4 kids ever slept with an stuffed animal, blankie and any other psychological crutch.

DADvocate said...

Can somebody find a bigotry angle in this post?

Teddy bears are usually brown....

Opus One Media said...

well the Brits are not a gorgeous group of people...maybe its just a preference

William said...

But when Ewoks reach out for love and connection, they are described as "despicable".

commentor said...

This survey by hotel chain Travelodge is clearly extremely trustworthy. I'd bet my teddy bear, Mr Snugglekins on it.

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