Back then, when it came to drawing a cartoon character, one thing that couldn't be without in terms of clothing was a fancy white pair of gloves. Whether it's a cat, a mouse or whatever Goofy is (he's officially classified as "Canis Goofus"), the whistling, walking, sketchy animated hero wouldn't be caught dead without a pair of clean white gloves on - but why? In a world where an overly anxious duck wore a sailor hat and shirt but nothing to cover his lower half, why were gloves so necessary to characters who debuted at the forefront of animation?

The truth is that the infallible gloves were added to the likes of Mickey Mouse as a byproduct of inspiration and necessity. They were not only in keeping with the shameful form of entertainment of the time, but also a corner-cutting method in creating characters that would eventually reach iconic status in the years that followed. The next time you see Mickey raising his gloves before going on an adventure, know that they were there because artists found them easy to draw and were partially inspired by blackface. Daiki.

According to Nicholas Sammond's The Birth of an Industry, (via Vox), the author explained that the animated characters were associated with vaudeville acts and blackface minstrel shows of the era. Once you know this, it will become an eye-opening revelation that you cannot see.

Sammond explains that they “were not just how minsters, they were The worse characters wore baggy, baggy clothes, had painted faces and most importantly wore white gloves. the revolutionary "Steamer Willie". It would be a year until the animated short "The Osprey House" saw Mickey slip into what would become a must with the other characters. Even after vaudeville shows were phased out, the gloves worn by the cartoon characters were not.

It wasn't just coming from the Disney camp. In addition to Mickey and Goofy retaining their prints from whatever merry antics they engaged in, Bugs Bunny also wore gloves and has done so ever since. While it may have been a sign of the times, it was also a simple technique for animators. Sure, each character may have had a different face, but whether they were big or small, hero or villain, one glove really did fit them all over a long period of time.

Animation has become far more detailed in terms of character creation now, but it was fairly common practice for decades to see characters with three fingers and one thumb on each hand - gloves for simplification. Interrupting the digit to make cartoon characters made the job easier and was a tactic used for years afterward. "The Simpsons," "Family Guy" and many other long-running shows followed suit with their main cast of heroes only in the four digits each, and some of the best animated movies that didn't come from Disney apply the same rule.

Over the years, many cartoons have had meta moments that question not only why they have three fingers (God in The Simpsons notably had four), but why some still wear gloves to this day. Even in The Looney Tunes Show, an episode called "The Rebel Without a Glove" sees Bugs Bunny adjusting to life without the titular item and makes for a strange sight. At least now for most of the animation, the gloves are off, and some animated characters get the gift of an extra digit of extra detail.