YSaC, Vol. 214: It’s a good thing the bear wasn’t German.

2009 February 17
by drmk

Perfect last min. V-day present (BRAND NEW AND STILL IN BOX) – $30


Vermont Teddy Bear. BRAND NEW AND STILL IN BOX!! Its a cream colored bear with bow tie w a heart in the middle that says “Ti Amo” (that is I love You in French just in case you didnt know) If you were to buy one off the net it would cost more than $50. So if you are still needing a Valentines Day present I have you covered, SHE WILL LOVE IT!!!! You can reach me at xxx-xxx-xxxx or by email.

214

That must be how you say I love you in French Prudential, since (as we’ve recently learned), French Prudential furniture is made by a guy named Al Italian.

Sorry this is a little late to help those of you who were struggling to find gifts. I tried to help you, I really did. I’m sure that a “French”-speaking bear with severed hands would have been exactly the thing you needed.

Edited to add: Some sleuthing by Courtney reveals that the suck-o-meter goes up to 11 on this one. Apparently the tag doesn’t even say “Ti amo” — it says “¡Te amo!” … which, of course, isn’t French either — it’s “I love you” in Spanish. So somewhere between looking at the bear (presumably sitting in front of her) and typing it in, the poster got the actual words AND the language wrong.

Sent in by Lecia — thanks!

28 Responses leave one →
  1. 2009 February 17

    Isn’t “Ti amo” Italian?

    Adores: 0
  2. 2009 February 17
    drmk permalink

    Um, yes. That was my point.

    Adores: 1
  3. 2009 February 17
    cmc permalink

    If someone is this late on a Valentine’s day gift, I don’t think a partially-dismembered language-confused bear is going to cut it. I mean…I’m just sayin’.

    Adores: 3
  4. 2009 February 17
    drmk permalink

    To be fair, the ad was posted on February 13th. I’m the one that’s late posting it.

    Adores: 0
  5. 2009 February 17

    I feel so inadequate. You’d think since I had a French minor in college I would know that’s how you say I love you in French. Guess I didn’t learn much at all.

    Adores: 1
  6. 2009 February 17

    hahaha… @ andrea…its je t’aime. not even that close.

    Adores: 1
  7. 2009 February 17
    candace permalink

    The point is, what girl/woman over the age of 12 REALLY wants a teddy bear for a present? Sure it’s cute, but I’d rather have some French-Prudential cuisine. Or an Italian-style foot massage.

    Adores: 1
  8. 2009 February 17
    drmk permalink

    @Candace: From someone with a talking bird?

    Adores: 1
  9. 2009 February 17
    Courtney permalink

    Out of curiosity, I went to see if this is a real Vermont Teddy Bear (very expensive collector bears). The bow tie doesn’t even say “Ti Amo,” it says *Te* Amo which is I love you in SPANISH. As far as I can tell, VTB didn’t make one with the Italian expression. Unless this is some sort of Italian knock off of a Vermont Teddy Bear – probably made by Al.

    Adores: 1
  10. 2009 February 17
    drmk permalink

    I was wondering about that! The picture was small enough that I couldn’t quite tell, but suspected that it was “Te amo”. It looked a little too round to be a “Ti”. Thanks for the sleuthing!

    Adores: 0
  11. 2009 February 17
    Courtney permalink

    There also appeared to be an inverted exclamation point (or something) before the “T” – which I think is exclusive to Spanish (but I’m not sure having never taken any other language). I wondered why it would be in Italian when there’s not a big unassimilated Italian population in this country these days. None of it made sense. The good news is, though, that it appears to be an authentic Vermont Teddy Bear – in which case $30 is a deal. As long as you weren’t hoping for a French-Italian speaking bear and are OK with plain old Spanish.

    Adores: 0
  12. 2009 February 18
    candace permalink

    @drmk – Yes, exactly, lol.

    And BTW, I feel so enlightened. I never met a bilingual teddy bear before today – Italian OR Spanish! And from Vermont, too! Who knew.

    Oh, and here was another great place to get Valentine’s items..

    http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/cancanwoo/?action=view&current=9d913fb7.jpg

    Adores: 0
  13. 2009 February 18
    Anonymous permalink

    Isn’t it supposed to be in a box?

    Adores: 0
  14. 2009 February 18

    It’s a sad life a bear leads, whose ears are larger than its arms.

    Adores: 1
  15. 2009 February 18
    Courtney permalink

    Anon – the picture was ripped off from the Vermont Teddy Bear page. Right next to the description which says that the bowtie says “¡Te Amo!”, and underneath the category which reads “Latino Teddy Bears.”
    It’s hard to make that many mistakes…..

    Adores: 0
  16. 2009 February 18
    Courtney permalink

    Sorry, it says “Latino Valentine’s Day Bears.” LOL, oops. I didn’t go back to double check before I posted. But I remembered the important part – got the language and ethnicity of the bear right. lol.

    Adores: 0
  17. 2009 February 19
    Laura permalink

    My husband got me a Vermont Teddy Bear for our first Valentine’s day in college. I didn’t know what the hell to do with the thing. I’d rather a book, or even just a card.

    13 years since, he has learned.

    Adores: 1
  18. 2009 August 5

    Hey, if I were currently immersed in writing a book explaining set theory, it would have sounded like that to me too, I’m sure.

    Adores: 0
  19. 2009 August 18
    Jill permalink

    Whenever people would leave comments on blogs saying things like “LMAO I just spit coffee all over my keyboard,” I’d think, really? REALLY? You literally did a spit-take just from reading something? But here I am with water droplets on my monitor from reading this post while taking a drink. Thanks to you and your amazingly hilarious site, I can no longer feel superior to the coffee-spitters.

    Adores: 2
  20. 2009 December 16
    Shane-For-Wax permalink

    Is that what cream looks like in Spain?

    Adores: 0
    • 2010 February 23
      kate permalink

      Looks more like Dulce de Leche. (caramel)

      Well, if they couldn’t get the words right, we shouldn’t expect them to get the color right either.

      Adores: 0
  21. 2013 February 17
    HamCan permalink

    Oh, bother.

    Adores: 3
  22. 2013 February 17
    penguin permalink

    Nobody expects (nor survives) the Spanish Inquisition – even teddy bears in Vermont.

    Adores: 3
    • 2013 February 17

      Given Sparky’s track record for fact-checking, the armless bear was probably made in Colorado.

      Adores: 2
  23. 2013 February 17

    ¡Qué barbaridad! That’s Swiss for “My goodness, Sparky, what a well written ad.”*

    *Not all of this is true.

    Adores: 5
    • 2013 February 17

      Dave, either you or the ferrets keep getting two words confused, all and any. 8)

      Adores: 1
  24. 2013 February 17
    Aphid permalink

    When I ask great uncle Google, he says that V-Day usually refers to the day World War II ended. His neighbor Wikipedia also says that it can refer to a global movement to end violence against women, or a political campaign in Italy.

    So the Llamanun isn’t late (either now or in 2009), she is three months early for Memorial Day.

    Adores: 2
  25. 2013 February 18

    Tankerbell, I am pleased to present you with this limited edition Presidents’ Day Punchity Punch Punch!

    Good Morning, Society for the Right to Arm Bears!

    Adores: 1

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