Ten things you never knew about... Winnie the Pooh

AA Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh, was born on January 18, 1882, which is why today’s date is celebrated as National Winnie the Pooh Day. 1. The hyphens in the original name were dropped when Disney bought the rights to the characters. 2. The origins of the name go back to a bear bought by a Canadian soldier in the First World War named Winnie after his hometown Winnipeg. 3. The soldier left Winnie with London Zoo where it was seen by Milne’s son Christopher Robin. 4. Christopher Robin named his toy bear after it. “Pooh” was added as the name he gave to a swan. 5. In the Czech version of Winnie the Pooh, “Tiddely-pom” is translated as “tydlidum”. 6. The Hundred Acre Wood in the Pooh books is strongly based on Ashdown Forest in Sussex. 7. The 2016 World Pooh Sticks championship was won by Charlie Roman, seven, of Stonesfield. 8. Winnie Ille Pu, the 1958 Latin translation of Milne’s book, is the only book in Latin ever to appear on the New York Times Best Sellers list. 9. The original Pooh animals can be seen in New York Public Library. Except for Roo who was lost around 1930. 10. To mark today’s date, Disney commissioned two new Pooh illustrations from Kim Raymond in the style of the original illustrator EH Shepard.