Weird Government Mascots

Smokey the Bear, the U.S. Forest Service mascot, was born on August 9, 1944. In honor of Smokey’s 70th birthday, the Washington Post dug up some other, less memorable government mascots you may or may not remember. Probably not. None of them were ever as familiar or appealing as Smokey. For instance, the EPA had a character called Thirstin’. Really.

Thirstin’ is not just a state of being but also the name of a water glass that encourages kids to be mindful of water consumption. You can even play Thirstin’ games online!

He’s primarily a character used by the EPA for educational outreach. “Glass of water with a baseball cap” is not a very catchy name for a mascot, so “Thirstin” will have to do.

Read about Thermy, Dewie, Owlie, and other cute little mascots at the Washington Post.