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April 18

Elmer the Safety Elephant

Elmer is a traffic safety mascot of the Canada Safety Council. My aunt was going through some of her old belongings and came upon a small Elmer statue (pics here. It's about 7" tall and appears to be made of brass and she got him many years ago, when the school she was working at closed down. And that's about all we know for sure. Elmer was created in 1947 and re-vamped to be more cartoony (this form) in 1948, so that's the earliest possible date. The wooden stand is probably not original; it's held on with tape, so possibly the statue came from something else, like a plaque. We'd like to know more about where this might have come from, if possible. There don't appear to be any markings on the base (of the statue or the pedestal) to identify it. I've reached out to the CSC, but haven't heard back yet. Matt Deres (talk) 18:38, 18 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

More info here, w/photos: [1]; note that it was originally painted. 2603:6081:1C00:1187:A581:B620:6BE2:98E1 (talk) 14:50, 19 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, thank you very much for that! The one my aunt has sure doesn't look like it's ever been painted, though; maybe it was a model or example piece? I'll see if I can get ahold of this "Toronto Mike" fellow. Matt Deres (talk) 17:16, 19 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

To the IP and Matt Deres thanks for your posts about this. Fascinating stuff and I feel like this ref desk is now part of the Antiques Roadshow. Makes for an enjoyable Monday so thanks again :-) MarnetteD|Talk 17:45, 19 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

MarnetteD LOL. Well, I was just lost, but I'm glad my ignorance about something has produced happiness for once. :-) BTW, it looks like you are I are nearly 'first edit neighbours' as we both made our first edits within a few days of each other in March 2005. Which I think qualifies us both as Wikipedia Antiques... Matt Deres (talk) 18:00, 19 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Very true Matt Deres and that reminds me of a t-shirt I saw that read "I went to an antique show and they started bidding on me" :-) Cheers. MarnetteD|Talk 19:33, 19 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In the UK, we had Tufty, a squirrel which was the brand of a safety charity, RoSPA. The official government campaign aimed at children in the 1960s was called the "Kerb Drill" and promoted by an elephant called Sidney (perhaps borrowed from Canada, but "Elmer" is not a forename used here). I was always confused by the Kerb Drill, as I imagined it was one of these. Alansplodge (talk) 11:47, 20 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Another UK "safety elephant": "Welephant" 2603:6081:1C00:1187:1164:F928:48A6:E720 (talk) 14:42, 20 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In America we have Smokey the bear and Woodsy the owl. Bears and owls exist here. How many wild elephants are rumbling around Canada and the UK? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:02, 20 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

We have an English Lion, a Scottish Unicorn and a Welsh Dragon as our national emblems - do you think we care about details like that? Alansplodge (talk) 22:19, 20 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Good point. Do any of those critters have names? Such as Leo, Eunice and Daryl? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:56, 20 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Known only unto God. Alansplodge (talk) 09:55, 22 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Pwff the Cymreig Ddraig? --Lambiam 17:17, 22 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Lives by Swansea... --Jayron 32 13:28, 23 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Poof the Welsh Dragon"? Maybe "Pyff"? Alansplodge (talk) 17:34, 23 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Piff the Magic Dragon"? 2603:6081:1C00:1187:D566:CA78:DBBD:B4D7 (talk) 17:42, 25 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

What kind of Maine Coon cat is in this photo?

I like Star Trek Discovery and I'm wondering what kind of Maine Coon cat is used on the show: https://trekmovie.com/2021/04/17/trailer-analysis-the-gravity-of-the-new-mission-comes-together-in-star-trek-discovery-season-4-teaser/ 2001:569:7D97:D200:58A3:6F5D:318D:7565 (talk) 23:19, 18 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

What typology do you have in mind when saying "kind" of Maine Coon? The role of the cat, named "Grudge" in the series, is played by two cat actors, twin brothers Leeu and Durban.^[2] Leeu is Afrikaans for "lion"; it is also an archaic spelling of Dutch leeuw.^[3] Durban is a large city in South Africa, so there is some connection with South Africa. --Lambiam 08:28, 19 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I found out the kind of Maine Coon in Star Trek Discovery is a brown classic tabby: https://www.dailystartreknews.com/read/say-hello-to-star-trek-discoverys-newest-cat-member-grudge 2001:569:7D97:D200:94D5:34AE:EC47:293D (talk) 06:26, 1 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]