stuffed animals

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This Year's Toy Mantra: 'Soft Sells'

Demand for stuffed animals is up 4% in an otherwise 'soft' toy sales season

(Newser) - The buzz word in the stuffed animal world these days is "soft," with toymakers scrambling to make their offerings to stand out as the plushest stuffies in the biz. And despite toy sales being soft as well (down by 8%), the Wall Street Journal reports that stuffed animals...

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?
Has Anyone
Seen Bruce?
May 13, 2023 10:45 AM CDT

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?

Liz Atkinson is 'completely desperate' to find stuffed elephant with late son's ashes, lost in Florida

(Newser) - "I am completely desperate and hoping this blows up and we find our elephant!" So begins a May 6 Facebook plea from Liz Atkinson, an ER nurse from Iowa who's doing all she can to find a stuffed animal that went missing during a family vacation in...

'Bird' Heard in Home's Walls Was Something Else Entirely

Animal rescue called off after UK resident discovered creature was a stuffed 'Harry Potter' toy

(Newser) - It can be quite distressing to discover there's a wild animal trapped in the walls of your house, as one UK resident thought had happened in their case. Per UPI , a call was recently made to Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue about a bird in such a predicament in a North...

A 'Child' Is Born, and Immediately Ascends Amazon

Baby Yoda from 'The Mandalorian' tops plush toy list, but it won't be available for a few more months

(Newser) - The hot item of the holiday season is none other Baby Yoda , the character also known as "The Child" in Disney Plus' The Mandalorian—but no one's going to be unwrapping him (and it is a him ) for several more months. Variety reports an 11-inch Mattel "...

This Funny Photo Led to a Happy Reunion

Stuffed lion 'Kitty' went missing on a remote trail in Oregon, is now back home

(Newser) - A little girl who lost her beloved stuffed lion in the Oregon backcountry was reunited with her favorite toy over the weekend after a community effort. Hiker Holly Spaman ran into 7-year-old Audrianna Flores and her family as they descended Broken Top Trail on July 16 on their way back...

You Had One Job, Stuffed Cow, and Now You're a Hero

It saves toddler in two-story fall

(Newser) - Well played, stuffed cow. Authorities in Chelsea, Mass., say the big toy may have saved his toddler buddy from serious harm or worse. As the Boston Globe reports, 2-year-old Luis Eduardo Gomez was bouncing on his bed Wednesday afternoon when he bounced clear out of his second-story bedroom window. Luckily,...

7-Year-Old and His Stuffed Animal Fight Off Armed Robber

'Two left hooks while holding the Yoshi doll'

(Newser) - A 7-year-old boy is being lauded for his bravery after he attempted to fight off a gun-wielding robber while armed with only a stuffed animal last week in Maryland, Fox News reports. According to the Washington Post , the boy's parents took him to GameStop to buy a Yoshi doll....

Sam the Dog Got to Space, Needs Help Getting Home

'A school full of sad children' has launched a national search

(Newser) - The search is on for Britain's cuddliest astronaut: Sam the Dog. School children launched the stuffed animal into space—along with a GPS tracker and camera—using a large helium ballon as a class project on Tuesday, Stuff reports. According to the Independent , Sam left Earth behind at nearly...

Cops: Stuffed Toy Saves Girl in 3-Story Fall

Her beloved Minion cushioned her fall

(Newser) - Police in Colorado say a stuffed toy helped save a 5-year-old girl's life after she fell out of a third-story apartment window. The girl broke her arm, but Colorado Springs police say she held on to the toy and it cushioned her fall last night. Police said the girl...

TSA Finds Gun Parts in Stuffed Animals

...and it might be a 'domestic dispute' frame-up

(Newser) - Adventures in TSA screening:
  • Weird: Agents at a Providence, Rhode Island, airport screened a 4-year-old's carry-on bag on Monday and spotted a gun inside. The weapon had been disassembled and hidden in three stuffed animals, reports USA Today .
  • Weirder: Authorities took the gun but let the boy and his
...

UK Police Roll Out Copters to Hunt ... Stuffed Tiger

Police were ready with helicopters, tranquilizers ... to hunt a stuffed tiger

(Newser) - Police scrambled helicopters and ordered tranquilizers to hunt what they feared was an escaped wild animal in southern England—but what turned out to be a stuffed toy. Hampshire Police responded after several residents called in to say they'd seen a white tiger sitting in a field near Southampton....

Knut to Be Stuffed, Displayed

Famous polar bear will go to Berlin museum

(Newser) - Knut spent his life on display in the Berlin Zoo, and in death he'll move to a museum. The famous bear will be stuffed and exhibited in Berlin's Natural History Museum, the New York Post reports, citing the Times of London. Even as veterinarians examined Knut to determine a cause...

1 of 4 Men Travel With Cuddly

Biz guys tote teddy bears

(Newser) - One out of four adult men travel with a secret tucked away in their suitcases—a special stuffed animal. That's what hotel chain Travelodge found out by tracing back to their owners the 75,000 teddy bears left behind in hotel rooms each year. Interested in how many of the...

Brit Nursery Schools Ban Cuddlies on Swine Flu Fears

(Newser) - Teddy bears have been given their marching orders from British nursery schools and day care centers as the government seeks to stop the spread of swine flu, the Guardian reports. New guidelines say soft toys should be removed since they are hard to clean properly, and the sharing of pencils...

Build-a-Bear Toys Stuffed With $33M in Heroin

(Newser) - Bronx cops discovered that cute Build-a-Bears that children are supposed to fill with stuffing were packed instead with some $33 million worth of heroin, reports the New York Daily News. The brown teddy bears held glassine envelopes of brands of heroin with names like "Barack Obama," "Swine...

15 Stories