Harrods sold the teddy bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh.
In 1921, A. A. Milne bought an Alpha Farnell teddy bear from the London department store for his son Christopher Robin. Christopher initially named the toy Edward Bear, before later renaming it Winnie-the-Pooh.
The name combined “Winnie,” inspired by Winnipeg, the name of a real black bear Christopher Robin saw at London Zoo, with “Pooh,” a name associated with a swan in Milne’s earlier poetry. The toy became the physical model behind the fictional bear.
Harrods is sometimes confused with the London Zoo, but the two locations had different roles. Harrods was where the stuffed toy was bought; London Zoo was where Christopher Robin encountered the real bear Winnie.