The Pink Panther is the title character in the opening and closing credit sequences of almost every film in The Pink Panther series of comedies. First appearing in 1963, his popularity spawned 124 shorts, 10 television shows and three primetime TV specials. The Pink Panther Show aired on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1979. The Pink Panther became the corporate mascot of Owens Corning in 1980 to promote its pink insulation.
Note: Have a happy Friday the 13th!
Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character created in 1959. This pink anthropomorphic mountain lion is best known for his famous catchphrase, “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” He first appeared in several episodes of The Quick Draw McGraw Show and became a regular segment on The Yogi Bear Show.
Quick Draw McGraw is an anthropomorphic cartoon horse who starred in The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959-1962), the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera. He is usually depicted as a sheriff, with a Mexican burro deputy named Baba Looey. Quick Draw was the mascot for Sugar Smacks (now Honey Smacks) from 1961-1965. In the 1970s, he appeared in several productions with Yogi Bear and friends.
Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting race records in the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2⁄5) and the Belmont Stakes (2:24) that still stand today. He’s the greatest racehorse of all time, in part due to his freakishly huge 22-pound heart.
Note: The 144th Belmont Stakes was run on Saturday, June 9. But few cared because favorite I’ll Have Another—who could have become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978—was retired on Friday after an injury.
Monchhichi is a line of Japanese stuffed toy monkeys that Mattel introduced to the U.S. in the late 1970s. The Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Monchhichis debuted in 1983. Monchhichis are monkey-like creatures who live in the forest land of Monchia at the tops of very tall trees, high above the clouds. As a child, one of my favorite stuffed animals was a Monchhichi. I believe the character was the thumb-sucking Thumkii.
After additional, very important research, I have identified both of my beloved thumb-sucking monkey dolls from childhood. One was a tan, 11″ monkey from Atlanta Novelty, a division of Gerber Products. And the other was the banana-holding Thumkey, a 7″ Russ Berrie knockoff of the Monchhichi line. Both had plush bodies with plastic faces and hands.
Tiny Ivo is a stuffed animal that resides on our bed. He is a brown woolen unicorn made in Oregon by Krystal and Mark Sharp, also known as The Roaming Peddlers. This magical unicorn, which my girlfriend Heidi bought in 2011, is embroidered with flowers and stuffed with about 1 1/2 pounds of organic herbs and flax seeds. He is a Magical Forest Friends creature. He was given the name “Derwin the Unicorn” by his makers. His tag explains that Derwin means “friend to the animals” in Teutonic. Tiny Ivo’s body is stuffed with chamomile flowers, calendula flowers, white willow bark, horsetail herb, juniper berries, dandelion root and flax seeds.
P.S. The name Heidi gave him was inspired by Golden the Pony Boy in The Science of Sleep, a favorite film in our house.
Happy Leap Year! This special occasion deserves a purple squirrel. These rare creatures show up in the media about once every four years. There was a sighting in Pennsylvania earlier this month, in southern England in 2008 and in Minnesota in 1997. Most guesses about how a gray squirrel ends up colored purple involve exposure to dye, ink or paint.
Note: There is a more terrifying hypothesis posed by Krish Pillai, a Pennsylvania computer science professor. He suggests bromine-contaminated groundwater from fracking operations: “That color looks very much like Tyrian purple. It is a natural organobromide compound seen in molluscs and rarely found in land animals. The squirrel has too much bromide in its system possibly from all the bromide laced frack water its been drinking.”
Pon de Lion is the most popular mascot of the Mister Donut fast food franchise, which is owned by the same parent company as Dunkin’ Donuts. This character, a lion with a mane shaped like a “pon de ring” doughnut, is one of a set of doughnut-based mascots (marketed as “Pon de Lion & His Sweet Friends”). In Japan, Pon de Lion has become more recognizable than the actual Misdo logo (a moustachioed chef).
On November 14, 2011, coinciding with Nintendo’s launch of Super Mario 3D Land, PETA released a spoof Flash game called Super Tanooki Skin 2D as part of their “Mario Kills Tanooki” publicity campaign. According to PETA, “Tanooki may be just a ‘suit’ in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur.” In the PETA game, a skinned tanuki chases a blood-soaked Tanooki Mario to reclaim his fur.
PETA’s incendiary politics (and its inhumane 90+ percent kill rate of stray cats and dogs) aside, I enjoyed their 8-bit Tanooki game. Mario’s Tanooki Suit, which resembles a tanuki and gives him shapeshifting powers, first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 in 1990. In ancient Japanese folklore and popular culture (see Pom Poko), raccoon dogs are mischievous masters of disguise. My favorite tanuki is my part-Siamese cat Tanuki.
The cat that accompanies the magical Fog Maiden on her nightly visits to Earth. Token the Cat first appeared in the 1976 children’s book When Everyone Was Fast Asleep and was featured in a second book Songs of the Fog Maiden, both written and illustrated by American author Tomie de Paola.
Today is 11/11/11. And it’s Veterans Day, which honors the 25 million U.S. military veterans. A moment of silence to remember those who have given their lives.
The advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes (also known as Frosties) breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. Since his debut in the 1950s, Tony has become a breakfast cereal icon. More recently, he started serving as mascot for Tony’s Cinnamon Krunchers and Tiger Power (whatever that is). “They’re grrreat!”
One of my three cats. The youngest, smallest and most skittish of the group. Tanuki was rescued from the feral cat colony beneath my old apartment complex. He is part-Siamese, insane and magical. I suspect that he shapeshifts. He was adopted in November 2008 as a kitten. My ex-girlfriend adopted his lunatic brother. They both turn three years old soon. His estimated birthday is September 2, 2008.
P.S. I almost named him Rorschach due to the dark inkblot-like markings on his face. Tanuki looks remarkably like Frankie from the 2010 Animal Rescue commemorative stamps.
Update: Tanuki passed away on November 9, 2019, almost exactly four years after The King. He’s now buried in our backyard. Rest in peace, little buddy. On to shapeshifting in another realm. Eli is our last surviving cat, the only family pet we have left – gone are his father and his loyal, secretive little brother from another mother. Eli will turn 13 years old in March. (Thinking about the diversity of fur colors and patterns in the feral cat colony my cats came from, I’m reminded of the detailed Colour and Pattern Charts page at Messybeast.com.)
One of my three cats. Before being neutered, The King was the alpha male of the feral cat colony beneath my old apartment complex and the presumed father of Eli. He was rescued in October 2008 when I moved from the apartment to a house. This broad-shouldered, 17-pound cat is loyal, tough and possibly shamanic. He wins battles with raccoons. His estimated birthday is May 17, 2005, though he could be older.
Update: The King passed away on November 4, 2015 due to complications from feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a lifelong condition from his feral past. He had grown thinner and more feeble throughout 2015. One morning he suddenly stopped eating, and it was all over by nightfall. I’ll miss how he followed me everywhere, requesting attention with his broken meow. The King is dead, long live The King. His body will join the previous homeowner’s deceased cat Bhanti (a tiny brown tabby female) in our backyard pet cemetery. Now we are down to two cats, Eli and Tanuki.
One of my three cats. Eli was rescued from the feral cat colony beneath my old apartment complex. More accurately, he showed up at my door on Father’s Day in 2007 as a 12-week-old kitten and asked to come in. He is large (17 pounds), intelligent, affectionate and codependent. My coworker adopted Eli’s brother. His estimated birthday is March 11, 2007.
Update: Eli passed away of old age on August 6, 2021, two years after Tanuki and six years after The King. Dear Eli, good boy until the end, respectfully waited until the morning after our daughter Ramona’s eighth birthday to leave this mortal coil. Ramona was very fond of him. We all were.
The Arizona State Sun Devils mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #6 of 347. Pac-10 mascot #6 of 10. (View reference images.)
Oscar the Dog – No. 414
Oscar is a stray orange and white dog who lives in the fortress of Sacsayhuamán, a walled complex on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru. Sacsayhuamán is the former capital of the Inca Empire. The complex is made of large polished dry-stone walls, each boulder carefully cut to fit together tightly without mortar.
When we visited Sacsayhuamán in December 2011, this dog followed/led Heidi and me around for hours, ignoring all other tourists (and even following us dangerously close to a herd of alpacas, which chased him). I named Oscar after our charming room—which was named after an orphan boy—at the Niños Hotel in Cusco, which supports disadvantaged children. I like to think of Oscar as my canine spirit guide and the best dog in the world.