The Arkansas Travelers' possum, Otey, is the latest of many possums that have come out from under the porch, into the spotlight. Other famous possums include:
• Pogo Possum. The title character of Walt Kelly's comic strip even ran for president on the slogan, "I go Pogo."
• Other presidential possums. Twenty-third President Benjamin Harrison wasn't known for much, except that he kept a pair of possums in the White House.
• Heidi the cross-eyed possum. The Internet star was famous for her cartoonlike expression. When she died in 2011, the Leipzig Zoo in Germany released a statement that she had "closed her eyes forever."
• Awesome Possum. Awesome as he was, the video game character got his tail cranked by the competition, Sonic the Hedgehog. His name endures as urban slang for a smart guy.
• Old Possum. Poet T.S. Eliot used the pseudonym "Old Possum" to write Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the basis of the Broadway musical Cats.
• Possum Grape. The little place in Jackson County probably was named for what some people call wild grapes. Wild possums eat wild grapes, but they'd rather have persimmons.
-- Ron Wolfe
Style on 08/26/2014