Editing Beaver (section)

===In culture===

[[File:Beaver sculpture, Centre Block.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Stone sculpture of a beaver over an entrance to the Parliament Building of Canada|Beaver sculpture over entrance to the [[Canadian Parliament Buildings|Canadian Parliament Building]].]]

The beaver has been used to represent productivity, trade, tradition, masculinity, and respectability. References to the beaver's skills are reflected in everyday language. The English verb "to beaver" means working with great effort and being "as busy as a beaver"; a "beaver intellect" refers to a way of thinking that is slow and honest. Though it typically has a wholesome image, the beaver's name has been used as a [[sexual slang|sexual term]] for the human [[vulva]].{{sfn|Poliquin|2015|pp=209–210}}<ref name="Francis"/>

[[Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American myths]] emphasize the beaver's skill and industriousness. In the mythology of the [[Haida people|Haida]], beavers are descended from the Beaver-Woman, who built a dam on a stream next to their cabin while her husband was out hunting and gave birth to the first beavers. In a [[Cree]] story, the Great Beaver and its dam caused a [[Flood myth|world flood]]. Other tales involve beavers using their tree chewing skills against an enemy.{{sfn|Poliquin|2015|pp=14–15, 130–131}} Beavers have been featured as companions in some stories, including a [[Lakota people|Lakota]] tale where a young woman flees from her evil husband with the aid of her pet beaver.{{sfn|Backhouse|2015|p=75}}

Europeans have traditionally thought of beavers as fantastical animals due to their amphibious nature. They depicted them with exaggerated tusk-like teeth, dog- or pig-like bodies, fish tails, and visible testicles. French cartographer [[Nicolas de Fer]] illustrated beavers building a dam at [[Niagara Falls]], fantastically depicting them like human builders. Beavers have also appeared in literature such as [[Dante Alighieri|Dante Alighieri's]] ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' and the writings of [[Athanasius Kircher]], who wrote that on [[Noah's Ark]] the beavers were housed near a water-filled tub that was also used by [[mermaid]]s and otters.{{sfn|Poliquin|2015|pp=20–21, 28–32, 134}}

The beaver has long been associated with Canada, appearing on the first pictorial postage stamp issued in the [[British North America|Canadian colonies]] in 1851 as the so-called "[[Postage stamps and postal history of Canada|Three-Penny Beaver]]". It was declared the [[national animal]] in 1975. The [[Nickel (Canadian coin)|five-cent coin]], the coat of arms of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the logos for [[Parks Canada]] and [[Roots Canada]] use its image. [[Frank and Gordon]] are two fictional beavers that appeared in [[Bell Canada|Bell Canada's]] advertisements between 2005 and 2008. However, the beaver's status as a rodent has made it controversial, and it was not chosen to be on the [[Arms of Canada]] in 1921.{{sfn|Backhouse|2015|pp=5–6}}{{sfn|Runtz|2015|pp=2–4}} The beaver has commonly been used to represent Canada in [[political cartoons]], typically to signify it as a friendly but relatively weak nation.<ref name="Francis">{{cite journal|author=Francis, Margot|year=2004|title=The Strange Career of the Canadian Beaver: Anthropomorphic Discourses and Imperial History|journal=[[Journal of Historical Sociology]]|volume=17|issue=2–3|pages=209–239|doi=10.1111/j.1467-6443.2004.00231.x}}</ref> In the United States, the beaver is the [[List of U.S. state animals|state animal]] of [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[Oregon]].{{sfn|Backhouse|2015|p=6}} It is also featured on the coat of arms of the [[London School of Economics]].{{sfn|Runtz|2015|p=2}}<!-- Please do not add any more examples of beavers as mascots or symbols. These examples are mentioned in general sources about the animals. -->