Tux the Penguin is the official emblem of {Linux}, This eventuated
after a logo contest in 1996, during which Linus Torvalds endorsed
the idea of a penguin logo in a couple of famously funny postings.
Linus explained that he was once bitten by a killer penguin in
Australia and has felt a special affinity for the species ever since.
(Linus has since admitted that he was also thinking of Feathers
McGraw, the evil-genius penguin jewel thief who appeared in a Wallace
& Grommit feature cartoon, The Wrong Trousers.)
Larry Ewing designed the official Tux logo. It has proved a wise
choice, amenable to hundreds of recognizable variations used as
emblems of Linux-related projects, products, and user groups. In
fact, Tux has spawned an entire mythology, of which the Gospel
According to Tux and the mock-epic poem Tuxowolf are among the
best-known examples.
There is a `real' Tux -- a black-footed penguin resident at the
Bristol Zoo. Several friends of Linux bought a zoo sponsorship for
Linus as a birthday present in 1996.
[glossary]