Toby the Toxic Teddy Bear

Remember how impressive the 1980’s must-have stuffed animal Teddy Ruxpin was with his ability to “read” stories that sounded from a cassette deck built into his back?

Well there is a new teddy bear in town (ok, in London) putting that animatronic toy to shame with its ability to cough and hack whenever air pollution hits dangerous levels — a detail that makes Teddy Ruxpin look, well, rather lazy by comparison.

In an effort to demonstrate the physical toll air pollution takes on human health, makers of the Toxic Toby bear have mounted the stuffed animal on a pole near Brixton Road in London, where it coughs and cover its mouth when air pollution levels in that region reach and exceed levels set by the government.

The idea was initiated by McCann London, a creative advertising agency, in the hope of drawing more attention to the problem of air pollution — which is, according to a recent report, responsible for air-pollution health complications that have led to the deaths of over 400,000 people in Europe each year.

“We discovered the alarming statistic that more people die every year from breathing in toxic air than from car accidents,” said James Crosby, a creative at the advertising agency.

Because London is considered one of the worst polluted cities in the region, Toxic Toby will make appearances throughout London, moving from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Developed from 3D printed parts, Toxic Toby is capable of turning its head, coughing and raising its paws to cover its mouth. Additionally, Toby receives air quality measurements from a company that monitors local pollution in real-time called BreezoMeter. Once the levels reach a specific point, Toby’s coughing mechanism is activated.

With each cough, a tweet is sent to local politicians with the hope that the reminders will inspire them to take action on the issue.

Once it completes its tour of London, Toxic Toby will tour other cities in the U.K. with reportedly high levels of air pollution.

Source: Toxic Toby