Tux

The GNU logo, and Tux

Tux is the mascot for the Linux kernel.

History

Through the Linux Kernel Mailing List, a proposal for a Linux Kernel mascot was made. This led to a contest within the Mailing List. Various entries were entered, and in conclusion Linus screwed them all over and chose a penguin. Linus claimed that he liked Penguins, and then stopped the contest in its tracks, making a prototype penguin.

Re: Linux Logo prototype.

Linus Torvalds ([email protected])

Thu, 9 May 1996 17:48:56 +0300 (EET DST)

. Somebody had a logo competition announcement, maybe people can send their ideas to a web-site.. . Anyway, this one looks like the poor penguin is not really strong enough to hold up the world, and it's going to get squashed. Not a good, positive logo, in that respect.. . Now, when you think about penguins, first take a deep calming breath, and then think "cuddly". Take another breath, and think "cute". Go back to "cuddly" for a while (and go on breathing), then think "contented". . With me so far? Good.. . Now, with penguins, (cuddly such), "contented" means it has either just gotten laid, or it's stuffed on herring. Take it from me, I'm an expert on penguins, those are really the only two options. . Now, working on that angle, we don't really want to be associated with a randy penguin (well, we do, but it's not politic, so we won't), so we should be looking at the "stuffed to its brim with herring" angle here. . So when you think "penguin", you should be imagining a slighly overweight penguin (*), sitting down after having gorged itself, and having just burped. It's sitting there with a beatific smile - the world is a good place to be when you have just eaten a few gallons of raw fish and you can feel another "burp" coming. . (*) Not FAT, but you should be able to see that it's sitting down because it's really too stuffed to stand up. Think "bean bag" here. . Now, if you have problems associating yourself with something that gets off by eating raw fish, think "chocolate" or something, but you get the idea. . Ok, so we should be thinking of a lovable, cuddly, stuffed penguin sitting down after having gorged itself on herring. Still with me? . NOW comes the hard part. With this image firmly etched on your eyeballs, you then scetch a stylizied version of it. Not a lot of detail - just a black brush-type outline (you know the effect you get with a brush where the thickness of the line varies). THAT requires talent. Give people the outline, and they should say [ sickly sweet voice, babytalk almost ]"Ooh, what a cuddly penguin, I bet he is just _stuffed_ with herring", and small children will jump up and down and scream "mommy mommy, can I have one too?". . Then we can do a larger version with some more detail (maybe leaning against a globe of the world, but I don't think we really want to give any "macho penguin" image here about Atlas or anything). That more detailed version can spank billy-boy to tears for all I care, or play ice-hockey with the FreeBSD demon. But the simple, single penguin would be the logo, and the others would just be that cuddly penguin being used as an actor in some tableau. . Linus

Another email in which he explains his choosing of a Penguin:

Re: Linux Logo Linus Torvalds ([email protected]) Sun, 12 May 1996 09:39:19 +0300 (EET DST) . Umm.. You don't have any gap to fill in. . "Linus likes penguins". That's it. There was even a headline on it in some Linux Journal some time ago (I was bitten by a Killer Penguin in Australia - I'm not kidding). Penguins are fun. . As to why use a penguin as a logo? No good reason, really. But a logo doesn't really ave to _mean_ anything - it's the association that counts. And I can think of many worse things than have linux being associated with penguins. . Having a penguin as a logo also gives more freedom to people wanting to use linux-related material: instead of being firmly fixed with a specific logo (the triangle, or just "Linux 2.0" or some other abstract thing), using something like a penguin gives people the chance to make modifications that are still recognizable. . So you can have a real live penguin on a CD cover, for example, and people will get the association. Or you can have a penguin that does something specific (a Penguin writing on wordperfect for the WP Linux CD, whatever - you get the idea). . Compare that to a more abstract logo (like the windows logo - it's not a bad logo in itself). You can't really do anything with a logo like that. It just "is". . Anyway, go to "http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/" for some nice examples.. . Linus

And one more:

From: Linus Torvalds . Ok, short version: I've always liked penguins, and when I was in Canberra a few years ago we went to the local zoo with Andrew Tridgell (of samba fame). There they had a ferocious penguin that bit me and infected me with a little known disease called penguinitis. Penguinitis makes you stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them. So when Linux needed a mascot, the first thing that came into my mind was this picture of the majestic penguin, and the rest is history. . Slightly more accurate version: . Yes, I was bitten by a penguin, but it wasn't actually very ferocious. It was really just a pigmy penguin about 6 inches tall or something, and it was more of a timid nibble ("is this finger a see before me a small fish, or what?"). Even so, I like penguins a lot. . More down-to-earth version:

All the other logos were too boring - I wasn't looking for the "Linux Corporate Image", I was looking for something _fun_ and sympathetic to associate with Linux. A slightly fat penguin that sits down after having had a great meal fits the bill perfectly. . Final comment:

Don't take the penguin too seriously. It's supposed to be kind of goofy and fun, that's the whole point. Linux is supposed to be goofy and fun (it's also the best operating system out there, but it's goofy and fun at the same time!).

Alternate Mascots

Daily Reminder that the mascot for Linux was almost a furry

This was used on the front page of Kernel.org in the 1990's

Of the alternate mascots purposed, a very accepted, and widely used one was of a Furry fox made by a person of the Yerf Furry Gallery. This was so popular that Linus made a Kernel logo that appeared on the Kernel's website combining the Furry logo with the Penguin logo.

External Links

A Wiki providing detailed history on the Penguin