Interest

Website Sells Plush Hat Based On 'Kumaa' Meme

The website CatchKuma.com is now selling a plush hat whose design is based on "pedobear," a cartoon bear frequently seen on the 4chan message boards. The hat is one-size-fits-all and costs US$24.99.

Pedobear originated as "Kumaa," a text-character art bear, on Japan's 2channel message board. The Japanese city of Fukuoka appropriated the bear for a consumer education program. The bear has also become a meme on the English-language message board 4chan, which converted him to more traditional art and dubbed him "pedobear." The Pedobear meme has since spread beyond 4chan, and the character is even cosplayed at anime conventions. A Polish newspaper also mistakenly identified the character's non-character-art design as a mascot of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

More recently, Pedobear was the subject of a TV news report in which parents were warned that the character is being used by real-life pedophiles as a mascot.

pVia BoingBoing]

Thanks to Erick Ho for the tip.