On 7PHP.com today, they've posted an interview with Vincent Pontier about a few different things including how the elePHPant stuffed toys came about.

You cannot be a true fan of The PHP Community and a programmer with PHP in your heart, if you haven’t heard of the magical, mystical and elegant PHP mascot that is coined as and known famously and passionately as ele.. PHP.. wait for it!: The elePHPant! If you are part of The Community, you probably already knew how it was created since the creator of the elePHPant answered it in his movie. But! Do you actually know why it was created and where the idea of creating it came from? And do you actually know Elroubio himself?

While the original interview was in French, it's written up in English to reach a wider audience (it's also in its original French at the end of the post). They talk about some of Vincent's background, where the idea for the elePHPant originally came from, what he thinks of the current status of the elePHPants.

Ever wondered where all of those elePHPants [some images nsfw] came from? Well, Vincent Pontier has created a movie showing how he came up with the initial idea.

El Roubio presents the film "Birth of the ElePHPant" made a day in the year 1998 has just been published. Why the elephant? Everyone loves the animal and its is powerful but at the same time flexible. It's fast when it attacks (databases) and it fits with the PHP name (elePHPants).

You can find more pictures of these blue globe-trotting ambassadors of PHP in this group on Flickr.

Damien Seguy and company have developed a brand new plush toy based around the PHP elephant idea set out by Vincent Pontier a while back:

The elephant is a community project. It was started as a crazy idea that I used to suggest to a number of people. I managed to draw a lot of happy smile, but I suspect that half this happiness was due to sheer craziness of the project. [...] Of course, it was impossible to prototype this mascot without involving Vincent Pontier. The rest is history. We started prototyping, and within a month, we got this excellent looking plush toy (we'll tell you about the manufacturer once we get the full load of them).

Check out the post on Nexen.net for lots of product shots (including the obligatory cute kid shot) and details on how it was developed and the answer to the important question - where you can get your hands on one.

Some groups have already ordered a large number of them for themselves and their members, but an online shop is coming soon to Nexen.net where you can pick up your own fuzzy bit of PHPness.

Damien Seguy and company have developed a brand new plush toy based around the PHP elephant idea set out by Vincent Pontier a while back:

The elephant is a community project. It was started as a crazy idea that I used to suggest to a number of people. I managed to draw a lot of happy smile, but I suspect that half this happiness was due to sheer craziness of the project. [...] Of course, it was impossible to prototype this mascot without involving Vincent Pontier. The rest is history. We started prototyping, and within a month, we got this excellent looking plush toy (we'll tell you about the manufacturer once we get the full load of them).

Check out the post on Nexen.net for lots of product shots (including the obligatory cute kid shot) and details on how it was developed and the answer to the important question - where you can get your hands on one.

Some groups have already ordered a large number of them for themselves and their members, but an online shop is coming soon to Nexen.net where you can pick up your own fuzzy bit of PHPness.