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the elePHPant

created by Vincent Pontier

mascot for PHP↗

The elePHPant is the mascot of PHP, born in 1998 when designer Vincent Pontier noticed that the letters P, H, and P could be arranged into the profile of an elephant. That typographic accident became the most collectible mascot in programming: official plush elePHPants are produced in limited runs and colors, companies commission their own editions, and conference photos of elePHPant herds arranged on tables are a whole genre. A mascot that started as a letterform joke and ended up with a breeding program.

the elePHPant — a plush elePHPant in the wild

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You made the elePHPant?

Two questions. Can you prove it? And would you come on a podcast to talk about how this little guy got made? If that's a yes and a yes, the "created by" is yours, link and all.

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