It all started when a hunting party that included Teddy Roosevelt killed a sow bear, only to discover afterward that she had a cub. When one of the hunters raised his rifle to dispatch the orphan in order to spare the poor creature a slower death by starvation, exposure or predation, T.R. intervened, commuted the sentence, and the cub was led off, presumably to a zoo. This compassionate gesture is better known today than any of President Roosevelt's executive decisions, treaties or other accomplishments while in offlce — thanks to a toymaker. It seems the sparing of the bear cub...