Yux

A penguin.

This is the well known Linux mascot. Windows has a window, Mac has an apple, and Linux has this penguin. Why a penguin? Cute, of course, but what's going on with its belly? In the midst of reading about Linux's operating system, I couldn't help but notice on the right of the text this penguin. I couldn't help but ask, why does it have muscles? Well, are penguins not supposed to have muscles? Of course they are, but why warp the familiar smooth elliptical penguin belly surface into something that looks like that?

This is another illustration that is unfortunately not used as the official mascot image. Well, why does it matter so much how shiny the surface of the belly looks? But that's not the most important difference between the two images. The the penguin on the top is male, and the one on the bottom isn't. Why male? What gender is the Linux penguin? Does the penguin have a gender? According to Wikipedia, this is Tux, the official mascot of Linux. Female counterparts, named Penny and Gown, accompany "him".