Tux is a penguin character and the official mascot of the Linux kernel.
Originally created as an entry to a Linux logo competition, Tux is the most commonly
used icon for Linux, although different Linux distributions depict Tux in various styles.
In video games featuring the character, female counterparts named Penny and Gown accompany
him.
The character is used in many other Linux programs and as a general symbol of Linux.
History Origins
The concept of the Linux mascot being a penguin came from Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux.
Tux was created by Larry Ewing in 1996 after an initial suggestion made by Alan Cox and
further refined by Linus Torvalds on the Linux kernel mailing list.
Torvalds took his inspiration from an image he found on an FTP site, showing a penguin
figurine looking strangely like the Creature Comforts characters made by Nick Park.
The first person to call the penguin "Tux" was James Hughes, who said that it stood for
"(T)orvaldsni(X)".
However, tux is also an abbreviation of tuxedo, the outfit which springs to mind when one
sees a penguin.
Tux was originally designed as a submission for a Linux logo contest.
Three such competitions took place; Tux won none of them.
This is why Tux is formally known as the Linux mascot and not the logo.
Tux was created by Larry Ewing using the first publicly released version of GIMP, a free
software graphics package.
It was released by him under the following condition:
Permission to use and/or modify this image is granted provided you acknowledge me lewing@isc.tamu.edu
and The GIMP if someone asks.
According to Jeff Ayers, Linus Torvalds had a "fixation for flightless, fat waterfowl"
and Torvalds claims to have contracted "penguinitis" after being gently nibbled by a penguin: "Penguinitis
makes you stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards
them."
Torvalds' supposed illness is a joke, but he really was bitten by a Little Penguin on
a visit to the National Zoo & Aquarium, Canberra, Australia.
Torvalds was looking for something fun and sympathetic to associate with Linux, and a
slightly fat penguin sitting down after having had a great meal perfectly fit the bill.
In an interview Linus commented on the penguin bite:
I've been to Australia several times, these days mostly for Linux.Conf.Au.
But my first trip—and the one when I was bitten by a ferocious fairy penguin: you really
should keep those things locked up!—was in 93 or so, talking about Linux for the Australian
Unix Users Group.
Tuz 2009
Tuz was the mascot of the 2009 linux.conf.au conference.
It has been chosen by Linus Torvalds as the logo for version 2.6.29 of the Linux kernel
to support the effort to save the Tasmanian devil species from extinction due to the devil
facial tumour disease.
The image was designed by Andrew McGown and recreated as an Inkscape SVG by Josh Bush,
and released under Creative Commons license CC-BY-SA.
Linux for Workgroups 2013 For the Linux 3.11-rc1 release, Linus Torvalds
changed the code name from "Unicycling Gorilla" to "Linux for Workgroups" and modified the
logo that some systems display when booting to depict a Tux holding a flag with a symbol
that is reminiscent of the logo of Windows for Workgroups 3.11, which was released in
1993.
Uses and reception
In some Linux distributions, for example Gentoo, Tux greets the user during booting with multi-processor
systems displaying multiple images of Tux, one for each processor core.
Video games
Tux has taken on a role in the Linux community similar to that which Mario holds in the Nintendo
community.
He has been featured in open-source look-alikes of other mainstream games, such as Tux Racer,
Extreme Tux Racer, Tux Math Scrabble, TuxWordSmith Tux Math, SuperTux, SuperTuxKart, and Tux
Paint.
See also List of video games with Tux below.
Female Tux versions in video games Some games that star Tux also include explicitly
female penguin characters, allowing the players to play as one of those characters instead
of Tux.
One such female penguin is Tux's friend "Gown".
Gown is variously depicted as being a pink version of Tux or as having a somewhat less
fat appearance and wearing items of clothing such as a red and white short skirt and a
hair bow.
In SuperTux and SuperTuxKart, there is a different female penguin called "Penny" who is purple
and white.
In the arcade game Tux 2 there is a female penguin called "Trixi", and in FreeCiv the
female leader name for the Antarctican civilization is "Tuxette".
Tux in popular culture In a Froot Loops commercial, Tux appears as
a squeaky dog toy as the "secret weapon" to distract a pack of dogs pulling a sled containing
a villain.
In the comics Hellblazer, in issue 234 "Joyride, part 1", we can see a Tux plush toy set on
the side of the road where a little girl was killed in a hit-and-run accident.
Tux appeared as a character during one arc in the webcomic User Friendly.
Other uses
In 2006, Tux had an uncredited use in the Al Gore's Penguin Army video.
Tux has been adapted to a designer toy called a Gwin and is distributed by October Toys.
It is redesigned by different artists and sold in short collectible runs through the
October Toys website and other collectable vinyl toy sites.
There are also artists who buy a blank Gwin to hand paint and customize as a one-off art
piece.
In 2008, Tux has also been made as a virtual pet under the name Tux Droid by Kysoh for
Linux and Windows, has many features including reading tweets from Twitter and checking the
weather.
There is a free guitar tab reading/editing program called TuxGuitar, which features Tux
holding a guitar as its mascot.
There is a Linux-based web server named TUX.
In 1999, Corel Linux Deluxe included a free Linux Penguin.
In 2007, Tux was used by the German cutlery producer WMF in the Sealion set for children.
In 2010, a prototype of a Tux monument with wings was presented in the Russian city of
Tyumen by the local Linux user community.
List of video games with Tux Several computer games, mostly free and open
source and/or for Linux, have included Tux, including:
OpenArena: contains a character named "Penguin," who is a man dressed in a costume resembling
Tux.
Pingus: A Lemmings clone in which the lemmings are replaced by penguins in reference to Tux.
FreedroidRPG: An ARPG featuring Tux as the main protagonist who has to save the world
from a robot apocalypse.
Team Fortress 2 has an in-game Tux doll, which was awarded to Linux players from February
14 to March 1, 2013.
SuperTux: a platform game inspired by Super Mario Bros.
Tux Kart and SuperTuxKart: Kart racing games similar to the Mario Kart series.
TuxMathScrabble: Math version of the popular family game starring Tux.
TuxWordSmith: Scrabble in over 80 languages starring Tux.
Tux Paint: A drawing program for young children, most likely inspired by Kid Pix.
Tux, of Math Command: a free software math tutoring arcade game.
Tux Typing: a free software educational game designed to teach typing.
Tux Racer/Extreme Tux Racer: A game similar to snowboarding video games, in which the
player controls Tux sliding downhill on his belly rather than humans snowboarding down
a track.
FreeCiv: A Civilization clone; the leader name of the Antarctican civilization is "Tux".
In addition, the Colossus is an enormous Tux statue, depending on the tile set selected.
WarMUX: A turn-based strategy game inspired by Worms, featuring many free and open source
software mascots, including Tux.
Frozen Bubble: A free software puzzle game, featuring Tux-esque penguins.
LinCity-NG: A free software strategy game that allows you to build a Tux statue.
There is a Pet in the online game DragonFable that is a penguin named "Linus".
Along with the tagline on the pet, he is shown to be a version of Tux.
Open Surge, in a test level by Celdecea Media
Tux variants
See also
The BSD Daemon, the mascot of the various Berkeley Software Distribution releases
Wilber, the mascot of GIMP Tux Droid
References
This article incorporates material from the Citizendium article "Tux", which is licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License but not under the GFDL.
External links Article discussing the creation of Tux
Linux 2.0 Penguins A complete history of Tux
Wired News story on Tux The Gospel of Tux
The LWN Penguin Gallery Roblimo's video posting explaining the use
of Tux in the DCI Group video TuxMathScrabble and TuxWordSmith Education
Games The Free Penguin Project – GPL'd machine
embroidery design files and sewing patterns for Tux.