Friday, October 31, 2014

Smokey Bear Name Trivia

Smoky vs. Smokey


A little trivia for today since the wildfires and the associated smoke are gone for the time being and thus blog postings have largely dried up.

Most everyone has heard of Smokey Bear, the famous mascot that has been the face of the effort by the US Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Ad Council to educate the public about the dangers of wildfire since the 1940’s.  In fact it’s estimated that 95% of adults in the U.S. recognize Smokey.  

But did you ever notice that Smokey spells his name a little differently than the adjective that describes what happens to the air when a fire is burning?  So Smokey is the spelling for a proper name, and smoky describes air quality. 

And one last point to note about Smokey - he doesn't have a middle name.  It’s just Smokey Bear, not Smokey The Bear.