my buddy icon:

Mike —

Most of Mike's friends know him for his quiet, yet affable, demeanor; his intelligence; and his constant analysis of, well, everything. We know all to well about his one-move style of game play and disposition towards female characters when playing DOA3 et. al. — oh!, and lets not forget this little gem we hear so often,

While an honored few can say they know Mike, not many people know of this skeleton rattling in his closet...

Growing up in the Northwest provides most with a somewhat sheltered upbringing. Mike was no different as he grew up in a sparsely populated farmland on the families ranch where they kept cattle, a few horses and a pony. The neighboring towns were sprinkle with either a rowdy roadhouse, a "gentleman's club," or a truck stop with "the" post office which was in reality just a small brick building containing PO Boxes — the real post office was 40 miles away.

In this isolated world, Mike's natural drawing abilities flourished. He would draw on anything... everything from the paper-bag covers of his grammar school books, to spray painting the old bridge trusses that crossed his favorite fishing spot.

This is where things get interesting... fast forward to 1981. Mike, now in high school, is bored with the teachers lesson and begins to draw something he's been drawing nearly his whole life: the little pony from back home. After class that day he noticed a poster announcing a design contest being sponsored by Hasbro. Mike went home and began sketching what would become the winning entry... My Little Pony®.

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My Little Pony® is the registered trademark belonging to Hasbro Industries for their very popular toy pony. Hasbro received a design patent for "an ornamental design for a toy animal". The patent (U.S. #D269986) was filed in August of 1981 and granted in August of 1983. The illustrations below are from the original My Little Pony patent.

The looks of the "My Little Pony" toys have varied over time; in general, the toys have had brightly colored or rainbow-colored manes and tails. Different patterns and symbols were painted on their bodies. My Little Pony was one of the most popular collectible toys of the 1980's. The toy was featured in a television series and a movie has been based on the toy.

Word Mark MY LITTLE PONY
Goods and Services IC 028. US 022. G & S: Toy Pony. FIRST USE: 1982 10 04. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 1982 10 04
Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM
Serial Number 73450973
Filing Date November 2, 1983
Published for Opposition July 10, 1984
Registration Number 1296534
Registration Date September 18, 1984
Owner (REGISTRANT) Hasbro Industries, Inc. CORPORATION RHODE ISLAND 1027 Newport Ave. Pawtucket RHODE ISLAND 02861

The characters and events depicted in this biography are fictional. The characters bear no resemblance to any person living or dead.