Another Hard Truth About Your Childhood Loves: Winnie-the-Pooh Is Not Who You Think

by N/A, 10 years ago | 3 min read

Winnie the Pooh, the world's most beloved bear is not what you've probably grown up thinking. He (if that's what you always believed) is a she. But, that's not even the least of it. There's a lot you probably didn't know about Pooh, like the fact that the iconic children's cartoon character is based off a real bear cub. Okay, we don't want to give away too much, but Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear has a lot of knowledge it plans on dropping on you.

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The big question:

Well, what do you think?

It's not that hard. Is Pooh a boy or a girl? We've all been raised to think the lovable bear is a boy, right? The poll above shows an overwhelming majority believe Pooh is indeed a boy.

Sorry to make you rethink everything you thought you knew about your childhood, but you were in fact raised on a lie. That's right–the new tell-all book reveals the truth about Winnie the Pooh: she's a girl.

We hope this hasn't shattered your very sense of being. The book offers insight into the world famous bear's origins (Winnie is based on a real bear if you didn't know that).

Did we just make you jump out of your seat with this news?

Well, sit back down because we're not done, nor is the book.

The honey-loving bear isn't even British. We're so sorry to continue dropping bombshells on you, but it's the truth. Pooh is...Canadian.

She's based on a black bear cub that was purchased by a vet from a Canadian trapper way back in 1914. The vet named her after his native Winnipeg, i.e. Winnie. So that part makes sense, but there's more to the story.

This part won't make you rethink everything in your childhood, but it brings the whole story together. Pooh was eventually left to the London Zoo (for those with British assumptions to satisfy), and a little boy would come and visit her often.

The boy? Christopher Robin, son of A.A. Milne–author of the Winnie the Pooh book series. That's how this whole thing got started, and Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, again, will explain it all in more detail.

There you have it: Winnie the Pooh is indeed a female, and not from Britain, although did end up living there.

Yes, Pooh purists, we know the voice of Pooh was a robust male British voice, but that's not the point. The point is, well, you need to get to know the real Pooh, which is a girl, from Canada.

Don't care?

That's fine, as long as you know now the facts: Pooh is a girl. Pooh is Canadian. Pooh still loves hunny. Pooh can still barely read.

Also, your childhood was a lie. That's all.