Okay, guys, my husband says he's been trying to think of a question
he'd be willing to pay someone to answer. Rather than research it
myself, I thought it would be much more fun to let you guys answer
this one.

What in the world is a Billiken?
(And no, "the mascot for St. Louis University" is not an acceptable
answer.)
Why does it look like the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man?
Where does it live, in the "Fantasy Zoo" with the Nittany Lions?

While the Billiken IS the mascot for St. Louis University, there is a
story behind it.  Being an avid fan of college sports, I, too, have
often wondered what in the world a billiken was.

There are a couple of debates on the actual history of the Billiken.

According to the offical athletic site of St. Louis University,
Florence Pretz, an art teacher from Kansas City, patented her version
of a Japanese good luck figure called a "Piriken"  or "Pilliken" in
1908.  It was adapted by the Billiken company in 1909.  Legend says
there are three kinds of luck that are associated with the Billiken,
good, better and best, depending on how tou aquired (or lost) your
Billiken: To buy a Billiken gave the buyer luck. To have one given to
you is better luck. The best luck came if the Billiken was stolen.

While it is pretty much accepted that Pretz designed the Billiken,
another story says that she found the name Billiken in a poem by Bliss
Carman
(http://www.slu.edu/readstory/newsinfo/699)

Yet another story say the Billiken was patterned after Joss, an
ancient Chinese god.
(http://www.e-z-smith.com/Billiken/)

While you didn't specifically ask, St. Louis University is widely the
first thought that comes to mind when thinking of the Billiken.  The
story, from http://slubillikens.ocsn.com/trads/billiken.html:

"The generally accepted version of the story can be traced back to two
St. Louis sportswriters who felt the SLU football coach, John Bender,
bore a striking resemblance to the impish creature. William O’Connor
and Charles Z. McNamara noticed the similarity one afternoon at
practice as Bender was especially satisfied with his team’s
performance. Looking at the coach with a broad grin and squinty eyes,
O’Connor exclaimed, “Why Bender’s a regular Billiken!” After practice,
McNamara drew a cartoon of Bender as a Billiken, posted it in a local
drugstore window and tabbed the football team “Bender’s Billikens.”
The sporting public took up the name with such enthusiasm that it soon
became the official nickname of all SLU teams."


With all the information, it appears that a Billiken is a symbol of
good fortune that comes from a variety of cultures and ended up being
the mascot of St. Louis University.


I hope your husband enjoys the history of the Billiken.  Please feel
free to ask for any clarification needed.

Regards,

-THV

Search Strategy:
"What is a Billiken"
References:
St. Louis University, Official Athletic Page
http://slubillikens.ocsn.com/trads/billiken.html

Billikens.com
http://www.billikens.com/billiken.htm

Billikens
http://www.e-z-smith.com/Billiken/

My husband says "Excellent Answer"! This question has been driving him
nuts for more than 10 years, and it was well worth the fee and the tip
to find out all these details. Thanks, tar heel!

(P.S. Is the "Tar Heel" in the Fantasy Zoo with the Billikens, the
Nittany Lions, and the Blue Devils???)

aceresearcher..

Thanks to you, and your husband, for the rating and the generous tip! 
By the way, the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils have enough trouble
living in the same state, nevermind the same zoo!

-THV

i'd just like to clarify something about your zoo... i'm a penn state
student so i need to set the record straight ... the nittany lions
name comes from the mountain lions that used to live on mt. nittany
here in state college, pa. nittany supposedly comes from a native
american myth about a princess named Nitanee. there are two versions
of the myth. hopefully i'm remembering this right; in one version,
something happened to nitanee's lover and she was so heartbroken she
laid down, died, and the next morning the mountain grew over her
grave. i can't remember the other version, but at any rate, unless you
consider mountain lions to be "fantasy" animals, i think the nittany
lion is pretty normal. :o)

I just have to add a comment, too...

A Tar Heel is not an animal (the animal mascot of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill is Rameses the Ram, named for a
linebacker - I think -  in the early days of Carolina football).  The
state got it's nickname as the "Tar Heel State" because of the tar
pits on the coast that were often mined (or whatever you do with tar)
to repair leaky ships.  It was said that Carolinians got tar on their
feet from so much time on the coast.  Thus, tar heels.

Don't even get me started on the Blue Devils.  Of course, my favorite
in-state mascot isthe "Demon Deacon" of Wake Forest University.  :)

librariankt 

(a UNC-CH alumna)

Ahhh, librariank, the battle of the Tar Heel Nickname continues.  I
have heard several stories of how the Great State of North Carolina
got it's nickname. One is that Cornwallis' troops tried to cross into
North Carolina, they found a thick layer of tar dumped into the river
to slow them down. When the redcoats finally struggled through to the
other side, they were black with pitch. Any invader of North Carolina,
it was said, would get a tar heel. Yet another says
that Confederate troops from North Carolina stood in a fierce Civil
War battle and saved the day after supporting troops fled. "God bless
the Tar Heel boys," said a smiling Robert E. Lee to one of his staff
officers.

Regarding Rameses, there was a running back on the 1922 team called
"The Battering Ram"


Tar_Heel_V
(UNC-CH Alumnus)