# FAQ  { #togas-and-yaks }

## So... why the name Toga? { #so-why-the-name-toga }

We all know the aphorism that ["When in Rome, do as the Romans do."](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/when_in_Rome_do_as_the_Romans_do)

So - what does a well-dressed Roman wear? A toga, of course! And what does a well-dressed Python app wear? Toga!

## So... why the yak mascot? { #so-why-the-yak-mascot }

It's a reflection of the long-running joke about [yak shaving](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yak_shaving) in computer programming. The story originally comes from MIT, and is related to a Ren and Stimpy episode; over the years, the story has evolved, and now goes something like this:

> You want to borrow your neighbor's hose so you can wash your car. But
> you remember that last week, you broke their rake, so you need to go
> to the hardware store to buy a new one. But that means driving to the
> hardware store, so you have to look for your keys. You eventually find
> your keys inside a tear in a cushion - but you can't leave the cushion
> torn, because the dog will destroy the cushion if they find a little
> tear. The cushion needs a little more stuffing before it can be
> repaired, but it's a special cushion filled with exotic Tibetan yak
> hair.
>
> The next thing you know, you're standing on a hillside in Tibet
> shaving a yak. And all you wanted to do was wash your car.

An easy-to-use widget toolkit is the yak standing in the way of progress of a number of [BeeWare](https://beeware.org/) projects, and the original creator of Toga has been tinkering with various widget toolkits for over 20 years, so the metaphor seemed appropriate.
