A stuffe animal is toy animal stuffed with straw, beans, cotton or other similar materials. Some stuffed animals are very old – home made cloth dolls stuffed with straw go back to at least the 1830s, perhaps much older. Stuffed animals are also known as plush toys (U.S English) and soft toys or cuddly toys (British English). The most well known type of stuffed toy is undoubtedly the teddy bear. They are often used as comfort objects.