Mr Whoppit was the teddy bear mascot of Donald Campbell, the land and water speed record holder.

As was his father Sir Malcolm Campbell, Donald Campbell was highly superstitious. Both consulted spiritualist mediums and fortune tellers, Donald also placed his faith in a lucky mascot, Mr Whoppit. He refused to drive unless Whoppit was with him. One of his wife Tonia's tasks was to hand Whoppit to him on entering the cockpit.

Whoppit was with Campbell during his serious crash during a land-speed record attempt at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1960, driving the Proteus Bluebird.

Campbell was killed during a record attempt on Coniston in 1967, whilst driving the jet hydroplane Bluebird K7. Campbell's body wasn't recovered, although Mr Whoppit floated free and was found almost immediately (Campbell's body was finally located and recovered in 2001).

Campbell also named one of his dogs 'Whoppit'.

Gar Wood and his brother George also kept teddy bears tied to their raceboat engines.

'Woppit' first appeared as a cartoon strip 'The story of Woppit' about a toy teddy bear, from the first issue of the comic Robin in 1953. In 1956, Merrythought manufactured a 9-inch tall Woppit bear wearing a red felt jacket and one of these was given to the (adult) Donald by his close friend Peter Barker. On joining the Bluebird team, Woppit acquired a miniature of their "Bluebird" patch sewn to his jacket, later followed by a one-piece flight suit. His name also changed slightly to 'Mr Whoppit'. In 1959, both Campbell and Mr Whoppit were photographed together in Robin.

Burton Milo "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. (born February 11, 1936) is an American actor, director and voice artist. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its 2005 remake respectively, Billy Clyde Puckett in Semi-Tough, J.J. McClure in The Cannonball Run, the voice of Charlie B. Barkin in All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Jack Horner in Boogie Nights.

Reynolds' parents were Burton Milo Reynolds, Sr. (1906–2002), who had Cherokee and Irish ancestry, and his wife, Fern H. (née Miller). Reynolds was born in Lansing, Michigan. He states in his autobiography that his family was living in Lansing, Michigan, when his father was drafted into the United States Army. Reynolds, his mother and his sister joined his father at Fort Leonard Wood, where they lived for two years. When Reynolds's father was sent to Europe, the family returned to Lansing. In 1946, Reynolds moved to Riviera Beach, Florida, with his parents. His father, Burt Sr., later became Chief of Police of Riviera Beach. Riviera Beach is the next town north of West Palm Beach.

Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE (23 March 1921 – 4 January 1967) was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s. He remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year (1964).

Donald Campbell was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, the son of Malcolm, later Sir Malcolm Campbell, holder of 13 world speed records in the 1920s and 30s in the famous Bluebird cars and boats, and his second wife, Dorothy Evelyn née Whittall.

Campbell attended St Peter's School, Seaford and Uppingham School. At the outbreak of World War II he volunteered for the Royal Air Force, but was unable to serve because of a childhood illness. He joined Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd in West Thurrock, where he became a maintenance engineer. Following his father's death in 1948 and aided by Malcolm's chief engineer, Leo Villa, the younger Campbell strove to set speed records on land and water.

He married three times: to Daphne Harvey in 1945, producing daughter Georgina (Gina) Campbell in 1946; to Dorothy McKegg in 1952; and to Tonia Bern in 1958, which lasted until his death in 1967. He apparently also had some interest in the paranormal, which he nurtured as a member of the Ghost Club.