Podcasts History This Day in Esoteric Political History The Billy Possum Craze (1909)

The Billy Possum Craze (1909)

Published: Jan. 24, 2023, 2:07 p.m.

It\u2019s January 24th. This day in 1909, the administration of William Howard Taft has gone completely possum crazy \u2014 and is desperately trying to make \u201cBilly Possum\u201d a mascot along the lines of the Teddy Bear.

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Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Taft was so infatuated with the possum, and the key differences between the origin stories of the Teddy Bear and Billy Possum marketing campaigns.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia