Hector the Cat eight of his nine lives due to "ignorance of road safety practices". This was followed by a short instructional film. In subsequent years other characters were introduced in calendars, instructional films, and comic books including Millie, his girlfriend (1973), Uncle Tom (1974), Hector and Millie's three kittens (1975) and his space friend Ding Dong (1982). A study in 1978 found that, although children enjoyed the characters and stories, the material had a number of inadequacies. It stressed that road safety research findings and child development theory would need to be considered for any future development. The character is currently used
Roni (mascot) Roni (mascot) Roni is the Olympic mascot of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, created by Don Moss. The mascot is a raccoon, which is a familiar animal from the mountainous region of the Adirondacks where Lake Placid is situated. The name Roni comes from the word "racoon" in Iroquoian, the language of the native people from the region of the State of New York and Lake Placid and was chosen by Lake Placid school children. Part of his face and the black-and-white mask around his eyes are a nod to the sunglasses and hat worn by competitors. There