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
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
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.
