Teddy Bear

An endearing stuffed animal, taken and held for a sense of security and peacefulness. Also the logo for EddiesWiki and (IIRC) the icon for DEBUG.EXE in MicrosoftWindows.

See NoddingDummy, CardboardProgrammer, RubberDucking.

The effectiveness of a TeddyBear can be shown by a true story:

While in college, an associate was bemoaning that his girlfriend was out of town. He had bought her a teddy bear as a gift for her return. That evening, he and I and another friend had dinner at a local place where we were wont to eat, and play Spades (a bidding card game). Someone suggested we play, and when I objected that we had only 3 players, the teddy bear was nominated as my partner, but played by his owner. The game proceeded, and the bear player bid a blind nil on one hand. Three tricks later, he picked up the bear's hand, stared at it, and muttered in disbelief "The bear's set my nil!"