Who does'nt know the little chubby Linux mascot, Tux, who tend to associate himself with everything about open source software? Probably most of you, but do you also know the story behind?
By: Jacob Munkholm Jensen
Tux is the official mascot for the open source Linux juggernaut. Originally the small, chubby penguin was created as a contribution to a Linux logo competition, and is today the most famous image of the Linux operating system. Tux exists in a multitude of variations, and is also used in various Linux games.
The concept behind the little Linux mascot originally came from Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux. Tux is invented by Larry Ewing in 1996 after suggestions made by Alan Cox and refined by Linus Torvalds.
Linus got his inspiration from a photo found on an FTP-site, showing a penguin character who in some strange way resembles the Creature Comforts-characters, created by Nick Park. The first person who called the penguin "Tux" was James Hughes who said that it stood for "(T) orvalds (U) NI (X)". But many people have noticed that Tux is also an abbreviation of the tuxedo, which often is the clothing that we think of in connection with a penguin.
As mentioned Tux was originally intended as a contribution to a Linux logo competition. Three such competitions took place, and every time with Tux as a candidate - without winning any of them. Thus, Tuxen is actually not, as some might think, Linux's logo, but widely recognized as just the Linux mascot
Linus Torvalds is said to be occupied by "non-flying, fat waterfowl", as colleagues call them, and Torvalds himself claims to have been infected with the rare disease "penguinitis" after the nap of a penguin.
"Penguinitis makes you stay awake at night, just thinking about penguins and feeling a tremendous love for them," he is said to have claimed.
Of course, Torvalds' supposed illness is just a joke, but in a way he was actually "bitten" by a little fat penguin during a visit at the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra, Australia. Torvalds was looking for something funny and sympathetic to associate with Linux, and that was when he spotted a small, slightly overweight penguin, sitting relaxed in his enclosure after eating fish.
In an interview he commented this "bite of a penguin" as follows:
"I have been to Australia several times, mostly because of Linux.Conf.Au. But it was during my first trip that I was bitten by a ferocious, fat penguin. You really should keep these animals locked up! It was around the year 1993 when I was about to speak for the Australian Unix Users Group.
Since then Tux has become the very quintessence of Linux, and hence a way of open source. The first thing you see in association to Linux is Tux, and the first thing that comes up in your mind when thinking of open source is ... Linux.
