Mr.
Peanut was invented when
Planters' wanted a new
mascot and held a
contest in
Virginia, offering a
prize to the person to submit the winning entry. A 14-year-old boy sent in a drawing of a
peanut with
arms and
legs labelled "Mr. Peanut". He won $5. An
artist at
Planters' later added the
cane,
top hat, and
monocle, creating the peanutty
gentleman we've come to know and love over the last 70 years of scarfing down
honey-roasted.
It sounds pretty stupid, but I guess the key point here is the caption to the drawing, which inspired the company to create a walking peanut character. I don't think just a drawing of an animate peanut would have cut it. The real loser here is the kid, I imagine, whose design is probably worth millions now.