1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,680 Speaker 1: Guess what mango? What's that? Well, so, probably five or 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: six years ago, I was walking down the street in 3 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: New York and my family was with me, and we 4 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: stumbled into some sort of film shoot right there in 5 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: midtown Manhattan, and we see Ben Stiller up ahead of us. 6 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: So I asked my kids, do you know who that is? 7 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: And they actually did recognize him. But take a guess 8 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 1: as to what role they remembered him from. Mmm, I'm 9 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,440 Speaker 1: gonna say like A Night at the Museum. Well, it's 10 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: a good guess, and they've definitely seen those movies. But actually, 11 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: Penny Rose immediately started singing a cheese is a person 12 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: in your neighborhood, honestly so, and then William joined in, 13 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: so both she and William recognized him from that ridiculous 14 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: role that cameo that he made as the cheese on Sesame. 15 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: It really isn't. And what's wild is when you stop 16 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: to think about all the great songs from Sesame Street 17 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: over the years, and just how my kids and George 18 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: and I all know every word to these songs, and 19 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: I know there are millions of others who could sing 20 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: right along with us. There's a song for every emotion. 21 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: In every situation you think about Oscars, I love Trash 22 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: or my favorite, the snuffle Lullaby You've got kurmits it's 23 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: not easy being green, or one of these things is 24 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 1: not like the other one. I mean, the list goes 25 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: on and on, and of course I don't want to 26 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: forget the song with the most ridiculous roster of cameos ever, 27 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: and that's put down the Ducky. I mean, I know 28 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: this sounds ridiculous, but do you remember the time, like 29 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: you and I and some of the people tried to 30 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: name all the cameos of the people who are in 31 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: this It's such a ridiculous list, and it felt like 32 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: we named a ton and yet I don't even think 33 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: we got halfway there. Just looking at the list again, 34 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: there was Gladys Night, James Taylor, John Candy, Pee Wee Herman, 35 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 1: Patty LaBelle, Martina ne Rattle, Loba. I mean, the list 36 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: goes on and on, but I think one of my 37 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: favorite things about it is just how all over the 38 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: place this list was. I know, and you almost get 39 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: the feeling like people were flattered to be asked to 40 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: be in it, right totally. I mean, can you imagine 41 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: that be like the highlight of a career to be 42 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: part of this song. But it's hard to believe that 43 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: Sesame Street will turn fifty next year. And there's no 44 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: telling how many kids have learned something from the show 45 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: over the years. And you know, we did that episode 46 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: about Mr Rogers a few months back and both of 47 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: us just had a blast doing it, So it seemed 48 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: time to do the same thing with Sesame Street. So 49 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part 50 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined 51 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: by my good friend man Guesh Ticketer and on the 52 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: other side of the soundproof glass putting the finishing touches 53 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: on his own homemade muppet, that's our friend and producer 54 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: Tristan McNeil. Now, I don't want to hurt any feelings. 55 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:55,920 Speaker 1: I do have to say it was a noble effort, 56 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: but it's still kind of looks like a mop with 57 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: a pair of googly eyes slapped on it. I don't 58 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: know how you feel about it, I mean, to be fair, 59 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: that's kind of what a muffet is, right Like, I 60 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: actually remember this old Simpsons gag where Lisa asked what 61 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: a muppet is, and Homer says, well, it's not quite 62 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: a mop, and uh, it's not quite a puppet. So 63 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: to answer your question, I don't know. Well he wasn't 64 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: alone and not knowing, and in fact, even Muppet creator 65 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: Jim Henson wasn't so sure. Early in his career, Henson 66 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 1: said the word muppet was this combination of the words 67 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: marionette and puppet that would make a lot of sense. 68 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: But later interviews found Henson refuting that earlier claim and 69 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: instead insisting that it was just a fun, made up 70 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: word with no deeper meaning. But you know, the word 71 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: itself might not mean much, but the Muppets in the 72 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: world's they inhabit mean quite a lot to millions of 73 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: children and adults alike. So today we're going to celebrate 74 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: the impact by exploring the muppets original stomping grounds, which 75 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: of course is Sesame Street. Now we'll get a sense 76 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: for how the Landmark show got its start, as well 77 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: as what it's like to work behind in this case, 78 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: below the scenes, and along the way we'll learn a 79 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: little bit more about the humans and the Muppets who 80 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: call Sesame Street home. Yeah, but I almost feel like 81 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: we're getting a little ahead of ourselves with all his 82 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: muppet talk, because the way to Sesame Street wasn't actually 83 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: paid with felt puppets, but with a posh Manhattan dinner party. 84 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: And it sounds strange, But in nineteen sixty six, there 85 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: was this executive for the Carnegie Foundation whose name is 86 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: Lloyd Morrissett, and Lloyd struck up this conversation with this 87 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: friend of this, this public television producer named Joan Cooney, 88 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: and Morrissett told her that his daughter loved TV so 89 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: much that she'd actually memorized all her favorite commercials, like 90 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: she memorized the jingle she woke up early to watch TV. 91 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,719 Speaker 1: She'd even wake up so early that she'd watched the 92 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 1: test patterns before the broadcast started. It's amazing. That's a 93 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: concept that I don't think kids that they could even 94 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: understand it all as like having to wait for some 95 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 1: of them. That's dedication. But the story kicked off this 96 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:58,600 Speaker 1: lengthy conversation between Morrissett and Cooney, and they started talking 97 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: about how TV could be aid both entertaining and educational 98 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: for young kids. So they wondered if those same flashy 99 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: techniques that were getting used to make ads for serial 100 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,239 Speaker 1: and toys if those could also be used in educational ways, 101 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: you know, for things like, I guess, teaching the alphabet 102 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: or accounting numbers or whatever. And the two kept their 103 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: conversation going for about three years, and at the heart 104 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: of this conversation was this one guiding question, quote, what 105 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: if educational content went down more like ice cream than spinach? Right? 106 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 1: So this is where they were asking themselves over and over, 107 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: and to help answer this, Cooney actually wrote this paper 108 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: for the Carnegie Foundation in nineteen sixty seven. It was 109 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: titled the Potential Uses of TV and Preschool Education, and 110 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 1: the paper actually detailed a small amount of research that 111 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: had been done on the subject up until then, and 112 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: it also included Cooney's own thoughts from interviews with educators 113 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: and child psychologists about I guess what an educational program 114 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: for young kids could look like? So, so what kind 115 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,280 Speaker 1: of stuff did the experts recommend? So I've actually got 116 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: a quote here, So Cooney wrote, nearly everyone I met 117 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: like the you have a daily hour long program, Almost 118 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 1: all of them one of the letters of the alphabet 119 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: and their sounds as well as numbers included. So they 120 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,799 Speaker 1: took this feedback and they coupled it with this warm 121 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: response from the Carnegie Foundation, and all of this inspired 122 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: Cooney and Morrisset to co found the Children's Television Workshop, 123 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: and this was in Obviously later this gets renamed the 124 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: Sesame Workshop. But one thing Cooney's research hadn't helped with 125 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: was how exactly to convey that traditionally dry material in 126 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 1: this exciting way that they were talking about. So she 127 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 1: actually turned to this researcher, this children's researcher at University 128 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: of Michigan named Edward Palmer, and it was his insights 129 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: that helped shape how the show would eventually be structured. 130 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: So think about things like um, his findings showed that 131 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: kids loved music, they loved us slapstick comedy, they loved 132 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: watching animals and other children, but they also disliked unkind characters, 133 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: which was this new finding. And they were also board 134 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: stiff by talking adults, which you know, it sounds obvious 135 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:59,679 Speaker 1: in hindsight, but in the nineteen sixties, nobody would actually 136 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,479 Speaker 1: put that thought into like what kids would or wouldn't 137 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: respond to on TV, or much less spelled it all 138 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: out for them. Yeah, I mean, looking back, Sesame Street 139 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: really was a pioneer in that regard, and it's pretty 140 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: clear how those findings would push the producers towards this 141 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: idea of using puppets. But actually read that at first, 142 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: Jim Henson wasn't even keen on the idea of doing 143 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: television for children at all. Yeah, that's right. So this 144 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: producer and writer named John Stone actually recommended Henson for 145 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 1: the project. He'd worked earlier on this Cinderella adaptation that 146 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: I guess never made it to air, But like you said, 147 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: Henson wasn't interested. So he'd actually found success already using 148 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: his puppets on everything from like national commercials to the 149 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: Ed Sullivan Show and even a stint on SNL. Actually, 150 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: this is American Masters about Jim Henson that I've watched, 151 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: i'd say honestly, like a hundred times. And there's a 152 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: bit in it where he and his friends talk about 153 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: how they learned to write comedy from these old vaudeville 154 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: and cat skill comedians, from shows like Ed Sullivan. And 155 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: there's this great scene it's like Rolf where he's boxing 156 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: and he's boxing this bag and he's getting ready for 157 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: a fight, and he reveals his plans about how he's 158 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: going to tackle the fight, and he goes right cross, 159 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: left cross, right cross, left cross, right cross, left cross, 160 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: and he's just getting worked up, right, and then the 161 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: host goes for ralf what if he hits you and 162 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: raw flicks with the camera and goes red cross, blue cross. 163 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 1: I mean, it's such a catskill joke. But obviously, like 164 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: Jim Henson is starting to get better and better at 165 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,559 Speaker 1: writing for adults and writing comedy, and making the switch 166 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: to show aimed strictly at children kind of felt like 167 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,439 Speaker 1: a step back from him. It's interesting to think about 168 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: it being that way. You know, I've actually sometimes heard 169 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: Jim Henson described as the Walt Disney of puppets or 170 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: or maybe of public television, And you know, that strong 171 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: drive to elevate the public perception of their art form 172 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: is probably another point of overlap. Do you remember that 173 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,239 Speaker 1: story about Disney hating the idea of animation being pigeonholed 174 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,199 Speaker 1: as you know, just children's entertainment. Of course, that's the 175 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: big reason why we have something like Fantasia in the 176 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 1: first place. And it kind of sounds like Hinson had 177 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: that same kind of chip on his shoulder, So I 178 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: know what you're saying. But that's actually really funny because 179 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: I love Fantasia, and I've read that Disney couldn't stay 180 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 1: awake during the screenings of it as much to it. 181 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,439 Speaker 1: But you're right. In nine, shortly after taking the job 182 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: on Sesame Street, hence and actually told her reporter what 183 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: I'm against is people's thinking puppets are exclusively four children. 184 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: We've directed or work mostly towards adults, and historically puppets 185 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: have often been for adults. It's only fairly recently that 186 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: puppets have been pushed into strictly children's areas. As a 187 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: theater form, puppetry can do virtually anything, So I'm curious 188 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: what changed his mind about all of this. I mean 189 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: a lot of it was the pressure and pleading from 190 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: Cooney and the rest of the team there, and uh 191 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: Cuney was eventually able to win him over kind of 192 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: by pointing out that if Sesame Street became a success, 193 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: it could be leveraged into like securing funding for other projects. 194 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,200 Speaker 1: So she actually told him, trust me, Jim, it's just 195 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: around the corner. You're not going to be stuck in 196 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 1: Little Kitty Entertainment. And she actually kept her promise like 197 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,040 Speaker 1: less than a decade after Sesame Street premiered, Henson was 198 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: actually able to launch his own edgier project, a little 199 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: something called The Muffett Show. But back to Sesame So 200 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: the show actually launched with the preview episode called This 201 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: Way to Sesame Street, which aired on NBC on Saturday, 202 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: November eight at five pm. And this was in nine. 203 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: What you said this was? This was on NBC. I know, 204 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 1: it's crazy, right, So the series didn't air on PBS 205 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: until that following Monday, but the preview on Network TV 206 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: actually helped introduce the idea of the show to parents, 207 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 1: so they know when to tune in for regular episodes. 208 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: And this was actually a smart idea considering all the 209 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: stuff happening in the world at the time. So this 210 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 1: is back in November nine, so the moon landing had 211 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 1: just happened a few months earlier, Nixon was finishing his 212 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: first year in office, and the Zodiac Killer was dominating 213 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: national headlines. So it's almost easy to imagine the premiere 214 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 1: of a kid's show being lost in all the scuffle. 215 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: But thankfully, like the producers realized what a loss it 216 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: would have been, and they actually took measures to make 217 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: sure Sesame Street got a fair shop, and actually they 218 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 1: weren't the only ones like that. The end of that 219 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 1: premiere episode actually featured in appearance by the U S 220 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:10,959 Speaker 1: Commissioner of Education, and he told the audience Sesame Street 221 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 1: represents both the historic step forward by the medium of 222 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: TV and an equally significant innovation in mass education. In 223 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: plain words, there never has been before a nationwide TV 224 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: program designed especially to prepare young children for school. Next 225 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 1: week there will be. Yeah, that's why. And it really 226 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 1: wasn't an overstatement, and I hadn't really thought about it before. 227 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: But you know, Mr Rogers was on the air at 228 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: that point, but his show was never really aimed at 229 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: preparing kids for school, and it didn't follow any kind 230 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: of research based curriculum. You know, you look at something 231 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: like Sesame Street, where every episode is focused around one 232 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: piece of curriculum, and Mr Rogers was obviously grounded more 233 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 1: in psychology and emotions. And that's not a knock at 234 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: all against Mr Rogers. We've said before, we're huge fans 235 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: and both shows are super beneficial in their own right. Absolutely, 236 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: and speaking of iconic I I do want to talk 237 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,199 Speaker 1: a little bit about some of the show's more famous aspects. 238 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: So for starters, there's the name itself. Apparently, the team 239 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: went through quite a few names before settling on the 240 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: right one. Some of the early contenders included one to 241 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: three Avenue B and incredibly generic Fund Street. The first 242 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: one was actually in the running, but it got taken 243 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: out because you know, Alphabet City, there's a real address 244 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: in New York that's one to three Avenue B and 245 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: produces where that it would have limited the appeal outside 246 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: of the city. Well, not to mention, you probably get 247 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: kids making pilgrimages to that address trying to find Big 248 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: Bird or their other favorite characters, and they're just being 249 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: devastated when they find like a laundrymat or something. Yeah, 250 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: I mean that's a good point. So it is lucky 251 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: for everyone that this woman Virginia shown was on staff 252 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 1: at the time and she's the one who suggested the 253 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: word sesame. She'd come across the phrase open sesame, you know, 254 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,120 Speaker 1: from the Arabian Nights and Sinbad Sale, and uh, the 255 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: word kind of strucker as being evocative of these adventures 256 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: in generals. So the team coupled that with the show's 257 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: urban setting and obviously came to Sesame Street. The odd 258 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 1: part is that they made the decision to like change 259 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,079 Speaker 1: that to the title at the very last minute, and 260 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,640 Speaker 1: obviously we're happy they did. Yeah, I'm glad they got 261 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: that straightened out. But you know, one of the most 262 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: iconic parts of the show to me has always been 263 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:14,839 Speaker 1: its theme song, Can You Tell Me How to Get 264 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: to Sesame Street? And it's kind of upbeat and whistful 265 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: at the same time, and I guess it's really like 266 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: a lot of the music from the sixties and seventies, 267 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: but it's also got what his hands down, one of 268 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 1: the best uses of harmonica I have ever heard, and 269 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,959 Speaker 1: I'm not joking. It may sounded like maybe, okay, maybe 270 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: it's a little bit of an exaggeration, but it was 271 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: still pretty awesome Top ten at least. Then it's performed 272 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 1: by this jazz and blues legend named Jane Toots Feelman's. 273 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 1: You know, he had this great career playing with all 274 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: the grades everybody from I was just looking at the list, 275 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: You're like Miles Davis, Ella Fantzgerald, Charlie Parker, and it's 276 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: just pretty incredible to see who all he played with. 277 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 1: But despite all that success, two, it's always had this 278 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,680 Speaker 1: soft spot for his work on Sesame Street. He was 279 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: interviewed back in two thousand and eight and he said 280 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: about it, my playing on the Sesame Street theme has 281 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: always been an important reward on my lapel. That's awesome. 282 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: But you know someone who doesn't look back at the 283 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: song quite so finally, that's Jon Stone. He's that same 284 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: producer we talked about earlier who helped Jim Henson get 285 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: on board here. But uh, Stone actually co wrote the 286 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: theme song with Bruce Hart and this composer Joe Raposa. 287 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 1: He'd wanted the song to capture that sense of running, 288 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: happily tumbling, playing along the way, but always intent on 289 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: getting to Sesame Street. And you know, I mean that's 290 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: what I think of when I think of the song, 291 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: and I think about like those old versions of Barkley 292 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: romping along and them all running and uh, you know, 293 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 1: I I'd say the song was a huge success, but 294 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: looking back, Stone was actually pretty unhappy with the trio's work, 295 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,520 Speaker 1: or at least the lyrics, which he co wrote. He's 296 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: actually gone on records saying that the lyrics are trite 297 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: and thoughtless, full of happy little cliches like the lions 298 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: sunny day sweeping the clouds away. All Right. I mean, 299 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: maybe that's a little bit cliche, but I feel like 300 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: that's a little harsh. It's it's not exactly Shakespeare. But 301 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: I don't feel like it's bad. I know. But my 302 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: favorite of his criticisms was that some of the references 303 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: would eventually feel dated. Like apparently he scoffed at the 304 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: phrase everything's a okay because he considered it quote astronauts 305 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: slang slang. What's the guy against astronaut? Alright, alright, well, 306 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 1: since we're taking a backstage look at Sesame Street, we 307 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: should definitely talk about the talented puppeteers who helped bring 308 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: the show's most colorful stars to life. But before we 309 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: get to that, let's take a quick break. You're listening 310 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: to Part Time Genius and we're talking about the story 311 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 1: of how we got to Sesame Street. All right, Mago, 312 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: so let's take a few minutes to highlight the humble 313 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: muppeteer that that's the unseen men and women who bring 314 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:00,040 Speaker 1: these muppets to life. Yeah. So, one thing I and 315 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: thought about before doing the research this week is just 316 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: how much of those characters personalities only exist because of 317 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:08,760 Speaker 1: the puppeteers, Like it isn't just that they control the 318 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 1: characters movements. Puppeteers on Sesame Street also provide the voices 319 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: for all of their characters. Yeah, that's right. I mean 320 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: the way that it works in most cases is that 321 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: you have a puppeteer crouched on the floor out of shot, 322 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: of course, and their arms are above their heads to 323 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: be able to control the limbs and the mouth flaps 324 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: of you know, whatever character they're performing. I meanwhile, the 325 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: puppeteers also speaking all of their lines in character. They're 326 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: interacting with the adults and the children who are in 327 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: the scene, and many of those are not even trained actors, 328 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 1: so they're having to hit all their choreograph movements, they're 329 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: having to keep track of where the cameras pointed. I mean, 330 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,400 Speaker 1: it's an insane amount of work just to bring one 331 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: of these muppet characters to life. And then something you 332 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: don't really think about is that, in addition to all 333 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: of these characters, you've got these puppeteers that have to 334 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 1: avoid bumping into each other. I mean, it's it's twice 335 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: as many as you see on screen there, and so 336 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: it's it's it's a lot of ordered chaos as they're 337 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 1: organizing all of this. It is really impressive, and I 338 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 1: mean in some cases it's even more complicated than what 339 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,159 Speaker 1: you just described. Actually, before we go into that, I 340 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: wanted to tell you about this time. I was in 341 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 1: San Francisco a few years ago and I was with 342 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: my kid cousin and I saw that Brian Henson was 343 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: doing this like adults Muffets show, and so I dragged 344 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,119 Speaker 1: my cousin along and it was great. But at the 345 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: end of it there was this huge finale and it 346 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,120 Speaker 1: was wonderful where all the muppets like sang in unison 347 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 1: and then they decided to do an encore and the 348 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:33,920 Speaker 1: muppeteers took the puppets off and did it all again 349 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: with their bare hands, and uh, it was really incredible. 350 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: Like I can't tell you how amazing was to watch 351 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: these hands like basically communicating all this emotion and singing 352 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: and you were just looking at fingers and it was 353 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: almost like, uh, I know you know this, but like 354 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,359 Speaker 1: Eddie Izzard and dressed to kill, Like when when he 355 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: does this show in English and then for an encore 356 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: he does the same show in French. I mean you're 357 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 1: almost like more amazed by watching him reenact it and 358 00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 1: like how you were laughing at this act that's now 359 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 1: in this like different language. I mean, that was one 360 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: of my favorite things to watch. I love that. It 361 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: really is incredible. But back to the puppet. So Gabe 362 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:10,440 Speaker 1: basically pulled a veil on this for me. And there's 363 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: three different kinds of puppets on Sesame Street. So the 364 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: first two are rod puppets, and these are like Almo 365 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: and Kermit, and then arm puppets like Cookie Monster, which 366 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 1: worked the way you said. So with the rod puppet, 367 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: the performer has one of their hands inside the character 368 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: to control its head, and their free hand controls a 369 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: rod that's attached to the character's arms. And with an 370 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: arm puppet, it's one hand inside the head and one 371 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: hand inside the character's arms. So of course this works 372 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:37,159 Speaker 1: best with puppets that have thicker arms, like a Cookie 373 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: Monster or Ernie. But then there's also a third kind 374 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,120 Speaker 1: of puppet, and that's a totally different level. Like that's 375 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: the wearable ones where performer actually has to like climb 376 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,400 Speaker 1: inside a body suit. All right, so you're talking about 377 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: characters like Big Bird or for instance, one of my 378 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 1: favorites Snuphilopagus exactly. So Big Bird's an interesting case because 379 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: he's actually a hybrid wearable arm puppet. So the performer 380 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: puts on Big Bird's legs like a pair of pants, 381 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: and then the body's lowered over him, and one hand 382 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: goes straight up through the neck to control the head, 383 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: and the other hand goes into one of Big Bird's wings. 384 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: And believe it or not, it was just one guy, 385 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: Carol Spinney, who did all of Big Birds puppeteering and 386 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 1: voice work for over forty five years. And today it's 387 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: one of his former students, this guy named Matt Vogel, 388 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: who wears the big yellow suit. That is pretty amazing. 389 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: He did that character for forty five years. And you know, 390 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,880 Speaker 1: it's a credit to the performers for making those characters 391 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: seem so real. I mean so much so that even 392 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:32,919 Speaker 1: as an adult now it does feel a little bit 393 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: strange to think about real people inside those characters. I 394 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: know I feel that way too. But why don't we 395 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: leave the puppeteers for a second and uh focus on 396 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,960 Speaker 1: the characters themselves. So to start off, I I do 397 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 1: want to read this quote from this fantastic book on 398 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: Sesame Street history called Street Gang. It's by Michael Davis, 399 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: but in this part he's talking about what Henson and 400 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: his muppets brought to the show and what made it 401 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: all work. So Davis writes, quote, considering that most muppets 402 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: start out as bath mats with applicase, it's fairly miraculous 403 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,879 Speaker 1: that they seem to have more dimensionality to their personalities 404 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,399 Speaker 1: than do most human characters on TV. Henson understood that 405 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: viewers would suspend their sense of disbelief if they saw 406 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 1: pieces of themselves and the characters so forgetful Jones had 407 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: a foible, and he was therefore funny and as recognizable 408 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 1: as the elderly neighbor who always seems surprised when the 409 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,840 Speaker 1: paperboy came to collect on Fridays. The count had an 410 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: obsessive need, and who doesn't, Telly fretted, Oscar cvetched, Ernie 411 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: teased for it was anal and Grover, like most of us, was, 412 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: if not always the superhero, certainly above average. And I 413 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: like that, And I guess they're pretty true to life 414 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, if if not somewhat exaggerated. 415 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: Like one character Davis mentioned there, telling Monster, he actually 416 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: reminds me of that girl you mentioned earlier, you know, 417 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: Morrisset's daughter who watched the test patterns. You see, Telly 418 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 1: was originally supposed to be the television Monster, and he 419 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: debuted in nineteen seventy nine as this character, and he 420 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,919 Speaker 1: was a TV junkie and his eyes would get all 421 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 1: swirly whenever he looked at one and he was being 422 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: hypnotized or something, and so this idea played for a while, 423 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: But then the producers started to think about this and 424 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:07,959 Speaker 1: they got nervous about what kind of message they were 425 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 1: sending to their younger viewers. I mean, that makes sense, right, 426 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 1: And they were making a TV show and probably wasn't 427 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:14,719 Speaker 1: their best move to have a character who gets all 428 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,160 Speaker 1: zombified like the kids might when they're watching. So from 429 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: then on, telling Monster was just portrayed as this chronic 430 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: worrier instead, you know, because that's that's such a big improvement, 431 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: I guess, I don't know. Well, speaking of hypnotism, did 432 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: you know that Count von Count had the power to 433 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaker 1: hypnotize people when he first appeared on the show, and 434 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: this was back in nineteen seventy two. Apparently he was 435 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: much more menacing vampire back then. But he became more 436 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:42,640 Speaker 1: and more friendly over time, eventually dropping the whole villain part. 437 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: You know, I was actually always a little bit unclear 438 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,719 Speaker 1: on this because I'm curious is Count actually a vampire? 439 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: You know, He's obviously patterned after Bella Leghost, he's take 440 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:55,960 Speaker 1: on Tracula, but he does seem pretty preoccupied with numbers 441 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,040 Speaker 1: for this creature who's supposedly driven by blood loss. Know, 442 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: I mean, the official line is that the Count is 443 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: not a vampire, but there have also been like times 444 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,160 Speaker 1: when he was referred to as like a number friendly vampire, 445 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: or once he was called a numerical vampire. So here's 446 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 1: the funniest part, right. In some takes on vampire folklore, 447 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: vampires are actually set to suffer from arith romania, which 448 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 1: is the overwhelming urge to count the things in front 449 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: of you a rith romania? Is that what you said? 450 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 1: Is that? Is this a real thing? Apparently it is, 451 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: and and they're even some old European and even like 452 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: Chinese folk tales where people are advised to ward off 453 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,679 Speaker 1: an attacking vampire by throwing a bunch of rice, millet, 454 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: wheat or red lentils at it. Like it's very specific list, 455 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: But the idea is that the vampire would feel so 456 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,920 Speaker 1: compelled to count up all the grains that I guess 457 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,719 Speaker 1: you can slip away as they're obsessed with us. Well, 458 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: I like the idea that it has to be red lentils, like, 459 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,880 Speaker 1: don't even try with the brown ones. That definitely has 460 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: to be red ones. But I do kind of like 461 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,120 Speaker 1: that the count is totally aligned with this vampire lore. 462 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: But you know what, while we're on the subject of 463 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: monster puppets, I do feel like we need to set 464 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: the record straight about another famous one, and that's Cookie Monster. 465 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,200 Speaker 1: And yes, that is still his name, because despite what 466 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: you may have heard, Cookie Monster did not trade in 467 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: his cookies for fresh fruits and vegetables. And that was 468 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: a rumor that got started back in two thousand five. 469 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,360 Speaker 1: And that's because Sesame Street had featured a new song 470 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,720 Speaker 1: and it was called a Cookie is Sometimes Food, And 471 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,919 Speaker 1: so people quickly assumed that the PC police were tinkering 472 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 1: with everything, and they decided to change this beloved character 473 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: and all his defining traits were going to be stripped away. 474 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:35,360 Speaker 1: But I mean, here's the thing. The Cookie Moderation song 475 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: wasn't even sung by Cookie Monster. I don't know if 476 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: you remember this. It was sung by Hoots the Owl 477 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:44,439 Speaker 1: and yeah yeah, And actually the scene ends with Cookie 478 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,120 Speaker 1: Monsters scarfing down a plate of cookies and declaring, now 479 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:52,920 Speaker 1: is sometimes which I just love that idea. And but nonetheless, 480 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: like the the ugly rumors persisted, and so much so 481 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,879 Speaker 1: in two thousand and seven, Cookie Monster had to have 482 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,119 Speaker 1: a sit down interview you and address these rumors head on. 483 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: So he talked with Matt Lauer and when asked if 484 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: he had given up the cookies, the Monster said, you 485 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,639 Speaker 1: members of media blow story way out of proportion. Me 486 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:15,159 Speaker 1: still likes cookies. I love that. And and really, Cookie 487 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,399 Speaker 1: Monster is kind of right right, like they were blowing 488 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: it out of proportion. The idea was never that he 489 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: ate nothing but cookies on Sesame Street. For example, back 490 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy four, he actually appeared in an ad 491 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: for the Nutrition Council where he's seen eating meat, vegetables, fruit, milk, 492 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: and a whistle for dessert, which he claimed would give 493 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,160 Speaker 1: him strong lungs. A whistle like a whistle that you blow. Yeah, 494 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: So that this was a campaign to get kids to 495 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:44,359 Speaker 1: eat fewer cookies and more whistles. I'm not sure. I mean, 496 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: I guess it was a little misguided on the front, 497 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,480 Speaker 1: but I think their hearts were in the right place. Yeah, 498 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: they probably were. Actually. By the way, did you know 499 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,639 Speaker 1: that Cookie Monster used to go by a couple of 500 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:56,439 Speaker 1: different names? And this is because the puppet was actually 501 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: recycled from earlier Henson ventures And this included a commerce 502 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,680 Speaker 1: herschel for It was for this wheel shaped snack. It 503 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: was made by General Foods. And this blue monster comes 504 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:08,880 Speaker 1: along and he's known as the wheel Steeler. And then 505 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,200 Speaker 1: you find during a two thousand four episode of Sesame Street, 506 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: Cookie Muster revealed to the world that prior to his 507 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 1: cookie eating days, he was simply known as Sid. I 508 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:20,600 Speaker 1: know his mom didn't call him Cookie Monster. He called 509 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: him Sid. But let's take a quick break and then 510 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: we can talk about some of the finest non puppet 511 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 1: characters to ever visit Sesame Street. Okay, well, so muffets 512 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: are great and all, but sometimes you just need a 513 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:50,800 Speaker 1: human touch. And thankfully, Sesame Street has had more than 514 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: a share of celebrity guests over the years, including its 515 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: first guest I've had forgotten. This was James Earl Jones. 516 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,680 Speaker 1: Uh and he read this surprisingly ten reading of the 517 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 1: alphabet back in the show's first season. But uh, probably 518 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: one of the most bizarre appearances ever goes to Ralph Nader, 519 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: who I didn't realize this, but he appeared on this 520 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,479 Speaker 1: Pledge drive in and the segment showed this chorus sing 521 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: the song the people in your Neighborhood, and Ralph joined 522 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: to sing in the line, A consumer advocate is a 523 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 1: person in your neighborhood. So chilly. I can't even imagine 524 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:27,920 Speaker 1: how many kids turned to their parents were like, what 525 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,719 Speaker 1: is a consumer advocate? But but you know they need 526 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: to know that's a pillar of every community, right up 527 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:35,920 Speaker 1: there with policeman and a firefighter and of course the 528 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:40,400 Speaker 1: cheese exactly and a friendly. Nader actually refused to even 529 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: sing the song at first because he wanted the lyrics 530 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: change from the people that you meet in your neighborhood 531 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 1: to the people whom you meet in your neighborhood. It 532 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 1: would be more grammatically correct. Is crazy? I'm sure he 533 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: was such a pleasure to have on the show, But anyway, 534 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: for for my money, the pinnacle of celebrity appearances really 535 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: has to be when C three P O and R 536 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: two D two landed on Sesame Street back in nine. Um, 537 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: I I believe the song they sang was a protocol 538 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,919 Speaker 1: droid as a person in your neighborhood, right, makes as 539 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,880 Speaker 1: much sense as a consumer advocate, I guess, But I'm 540 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,720 Speaker 1: afraid they didn't say that. Actually, the storyline was that 541 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 1: the duo had come to deliver this holographic message to Oscar, 542 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,560 Speaker 1: and the message was from a distant relative name Lowthar 543 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:26,600 Speaker 1: the ground. Of course, this super important, top secret message 544 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: in the end was just get lost, which I just yeah. 545 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: But the droids actually ended up hanging around for I 546 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 1: think it was a couple of episodes, and and during 547 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,399 Speaker 1: one of those episodes, things really took a turn for 548 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 1: the strange. I don't know if you remember this what happened. Well, 549 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,960 Speaker 1: for one thing, R two D two inexplicably falls in 550 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:50,199 Speaker 1: love with a fire high Yeah, fire hyd I mean 551 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: does that feel like love? Well, like I said, it 552 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,439 Speaker 1: was a really weird episode, and so here's what happened. 553 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,040 Speaker 1: Three Po eventually has to break the bad news to 554 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:01,720 Speaker 1: his clueless body, and he does this by saying, are 555 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 1: two that's a fire hydrant? Fireman come along attached their 556 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 1: hoses to it. Turn it on and water comes out, 557 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,679 Speaker 1: and then, of course are two speeds off. He's beeping 558 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,040 Speaker 1: sullenly to himself, and three po tries to comfort him 559 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,120 Speaker 1: with this real gym of a line, so he says, oh, 560 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,280 Speaker 1: are two don't be sad? You know what they say, 561 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: It's better to have loved a fire hydrant than to 562 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,679 Speaker 1: have never loved at all. Oh man, But I mean, 563 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,200 Speaker 1: I guess that's his lesson that like, kids have to 564 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 1: learn sooner or later, right, I guess so. But anyways, 565 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,680 Speaker 1: speaking of learning lessons, I do want to make sure 566 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: we spent some time on the educational impact of Sesame Street, because, 567 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 1: you know, going back to its original mission statement, the 568 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 1: show was always meant to and here here's the quote 569 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: from it promote the intellectual and social growth of preschoolers, 570 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: particularly disadvantaged ones. So with the show coming up on 571 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: its fiftieth birthday next year, I kind of wanted to 572 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: see whether or not it had hit its stated goal. So, 573 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,239 Speaker 1: I mean, I obviously love that idea, but how can 574 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 1: you even measure something like that, I mean, like measuring 575 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: how media effects intelligence or social qualities like tolerance doesn't 576 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: seem like it would be super easy or straightforward. Well, 577 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: it definitely isn't, but but that hasn't stopped a ton 578 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: of folks from trying. I mean, if you think about it, 579 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: Joan Cooney was conducting research on Sesame Street before the 580 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: show even aired, and since her initial paper there have 581 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: been more than a thousand studies that we're trying to 582 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: find out about the show's efficacy. So what's the verdict. Well, 583 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,520 Speaker 1: according to Sesame Workshop, preschoolers who watched Sesame Street do 584 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 1: significantly better on a whole range of cognitive outcomes than 585 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: those who don't, And most of the research I've read 586 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,560 Speaker 1: really does bear that out. For example, the National Bureau 587 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,160 Speaker 1: of Economic Research put out a study a few years ago, 588 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: and they were focusing on the very first generation of 589 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 1: kids to grow up with the show, so this would 590 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,560 Speaker 1: have been back in the nineties seventies, and amazingly, the 591 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,280 Speaker 1: researchers found that kids who had access to the show 592 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 1: performed better in elementary school than those who lived in 593 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: areas where it wasn't broadcast, and the preschoolers who were 594 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 1: able to watch, we're more likely to start school on 595 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,200 Speaker 1: time and progress through grade levels of what was considered 596 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: to be the appropriate speed. And then best of all, 597 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,360 Speaker 1: children who were raised in economically disadvantaged situations, they seem 598 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,320 Speaker 1: to be the ones who got the biggest boost from 599 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: the show. And this was a ton of kids were 600 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 1: talking about because you know, in Sesame Street first debuted, 601 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: it actually had a wider reach than formal preschool services. 602 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 1: In fact, only nineteen percent of four year olds in 603 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy attended preschool, but by nineteen seventy, as many 604 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,040 Speaker 1: as thirty six percent of preschool as children in the 605 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: US were watching Sesame Street. So these findings were telling 606 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: enough that the Bureau ultimately concluded that Sesame Street was 607 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 1: the largest and least costly early childhood intervention that's ever 608 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,840 Speaker 1: been implemented. You know, so while an early childhood education 609 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,360 Speaker 1: program like Headstart cost I want to say, it's something 610 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,800 Speaker 1: like eight thousand dollars per child per year, the annual 611 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,520 Speaker 1: cost of Sesame Street today is about five bucks. I mean, 612 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 1: that's incredible, But I mean, I I know Sesame Street 613 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:00,760 Speaker 1: is now an HBO. Do you want to talk about 614 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: how that changes affected the show and perhaps the disadvantaged 615 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,520 Speaker 1: kids the show once was supposed to help, Right, So 616 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: you're talking about the deal that sess me workshop made 617 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:11,400 Speaker 1: with HBO. I think this was back in two thousand fifteen, 618 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 1: and it basically secured financing for the show through its 619 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 1: fiftieth season, so that was definitely a shocking turn of events. 620 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: But it's worth remembering that the deal only grants HBO 621 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: first run, right, so you know it's it's something like 622 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: nine months after each episode's HBO premier, the show airs 623 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 1: on PBS as they always have, so basically, new episodes 624 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 1: are still free for everybody as long as you're willing 625 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:36,120 Speaker 1: to wait a season to get them, which is obviously 626 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: better than nothing. But to be clear, I do love HBO, 627 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 1: but why the show moved to premium cable It actually 628 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: seems like out of character for what has to be 629 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 1: like the poster child for public broadcasting. Well, it was 630 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:49,720 Speaker 1: really one of those do or die decisions that that 631 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 1: pretty much had to be made to keep the show afloat. 632 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: There was a New York Times article in two thousand 633 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,160 Speaker 1: and fifteen that they did a pretty good job of 634 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: explaining the situation, and so here's how they put it. Historically, 635 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 1: less than ten percent of the funding for Sesame Street 636 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 1: episodes came from PBS, with the rest finance through licensing 637 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 1: revenues such as DVD sales. Sesames business has struggled in 638 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 1: recent years because of the rapid rise of streaming and 639 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,719 Speaker 1: on demand viewing and the sharp decline in licensing income. 640 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: About two thirds of children now watch Sesame Street on 641 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,280 Speaker 1: demand and do not tune into PBS to watch the show. 642 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 1: I mean that that is interesting, and I guess when 643 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 1: PBS wasn't able to cover the difference, the producers had 644 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 1: to look elsewhere for funding. But I guess the show 645 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:35,000 Speaker 1: was always depended on wealthier benefactors to help finance the 646 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 1: show for everybody else. I mean, you think about like 647 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: viewer donations or merchandise sales, but I mean, to me, 648 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: the HBO deal feels like an even bigger step in 649 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 1: that direction. Like it's harder to say the show is 650 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:50,720 Speaker 1: made particularly to help disadvantage preschoolers when it airs on HBO. First, 651 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:53,560 Speaker 1: I mean, I get that, but if you think about it, 652 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: I'm not sure preschoolers would really share that sense of 653 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,160 Speaker 1: being slided. You know, as adults, we can pick apart 654 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 1: the implication of deals like this and you know, point 655 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 1: out all the ironies, the potential drawbacks, but in the end, 656 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: a new generation of kids get these new episodes of 657 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:11,280 Speaker 1: Sesame Street to watch, and from where I'm sitting, that 658 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,360 Speaker 1: seems like a clear win for everybody. No, it definitely is. 659 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:16,880 Speaker 1: Now we just need to start a petition to get 660 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,720 Speaker 1: Tristan's muppet added to the show, you know, for the kids. Yeah. 661 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 1: I don't know how much luck we'll have with that, 662 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:23,720 Speaker 1: but we'll give it a shot. I do think we 663 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:25,400 Speaker 1: need to keep one thing in mind. I don't think 664 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 1: he even used the clean mop when he made this, 665 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 1: But anyway, why why don't we just re channel that 666 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:39,080 Speaker 1: energy into the fact off. You know, one of the 667 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: things I love about Sesame Street is how they translate 668 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,760 Speaker 1: their characters in other countries. And did you know that 669 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:47,640 Speaker 1: in Nigeria they refer to Cookie Monster as Zobee the 670 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: Yam Monster. No, of course, Nigerian kids, I guess, don't 671 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 1: eat cookies the way Americans do. So the show runners 672 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 1: wanted to make sure the show was promoting a staple 673 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 1: crop that everybody could eat, so Zobie's cat phrases me 674 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 1: eat yam. I mean, if you're talking about how characters translated, 675 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,120 Speaker 1: I've got to mention Oscar the Grouch because I love 676 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 1: that grouchy people are just so universal that every country's 677 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:15,600 Speaker 1: got one, of course. Yeah, so Pakistan has a guy 678 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,320 Speaker 1: named Aktar. He lives in an oil barrel. In Turkey 679 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 1: he goes by Kerpick and for some reason he lives 680 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,359 Speaker 1: in a basket. And in Israel, I think we've runa 681 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 1: mentioned this before, but they've outsourced the job to Oscar's 682 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:31,040 Speaker 1: cousin in moshif Nick. And apparently mosh has got his 683 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: own style because he lives in an old car instead 684 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,719 Speaker 1: of a trash can, and according to Metal Floss, he's 685 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:40,520 Speaker 1: also an observant Jew. He celebrates Rashashana by dipping apples 686 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:46,120 Speaker 1: into sardine Greece for an extra slimy New Year. All right, well, 687 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:48,319 Speaker 1: here's a character I wish we had that comes from 688 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 1: the Dutch Sesame Street. It's a daredevil chicken named stunt Kip. 689 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:56,520 Speaker 1: Stunt Kip is a relatively new bird, but apparently in 690 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 1: every episode she does something super daring while a frightened 691 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: rabbit interviews her about the feet. But you've got to 692 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 1: listen to these death defying tricks. So stunt Kip has 693 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:09,120 Speaker 1: gone on an escalator by herself, used a bathroom without 694 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,879 Speaker 1: flushing herself down the toilet, checked her under a bed 695 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,279 Speaker 1: for monsters, introduced herself the new kids at the playground, 696 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,759 Speaker 1: and perhaps bravest of all, she told her aunt that 697 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:22,839 Speaker 1: she didn't want seconds of Brussels sprouts after eating all 698 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:27,319 Speaker 1: of her Brussels sprouts. I write a lot of stunt kip, 699 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,520 Speaker 1: but uh so, you know, Jim Henson is one of 700 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:32,680 Speaker 1: my heroes. And I always think of Jim Henson as 701 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:35,920 Speaker 1: like kind of a quiet and sweet fellow, but you 702 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:38,319 Speaker 1: can actually forget that he could be a little showy too. 703 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,719 Speaker 1: In college, he started this puppet show called Salmon Friends 704 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,320 Speaker 1: that aired on TV and he made some money off it, 705 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,720 Speaker 1: so he used that money to buy a Rolls Royce 706 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 1: just so you could drive himself to his college graduation. 707 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,720 Speaker 1: In its hilarious. There's so many things about Jim Henson's 708 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,279 Speaker 1: early life that do feel like almost in contrast to 709 00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 1: the rest of his life. But I kind of love that. 710 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 1: It's great. All right, Well, here's a cool and did 711 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:05,280 Speaker 1: you know that years before she made cameos on Sesame 712 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,520 Speaker 1: Street and introduced their videos. Of course, Whoopie Goldberg used 713 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,080 Speaker 1: to work as a babysitter on the show, so she'd 714 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:12,960 Speaker 1: watch over the kids while they were waiting to be 715 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: called onto set. Oh that's amazing. I had no idea. 716 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,200 Speaker 1: So there actually aren't a lot of shows that have 717 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:20,520 Speaker 1: been taken out of circulation. But have you heard about 718 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:22,799 Speaker 1: the Sesame Street where Oscar the garage falls in love 719 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:25,560 Speaker 1: with the wicked Witch of the West. No, that's worse 720 00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:29,359 Speaker 1: than a fire hydrant. Apparently they've reprised the character from 721 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 1: the Wizard of Oz and he fell in love with 722 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,759 Speaker 1: her because of her green face and I guess horrible disposition. 723 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,880 Speaker 1: But but parents reacted really strongly to the episode. I mean, 724 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:41,799 Speaker 1: in test audiences, kids were captivated by her face color 725 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,520 Speaker 1: and actually tuned in really closely. But parents mostly wrote 726 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:47,240 Speaker 1: in that there were a lot of tears and fears 727 00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:49,440 Speaker 1: about having to watch a witch on TV, so they 728 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:53,040 Speaker 1: pulled the episode from rotation. And also Sesame Street got 729 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:56,000 Speaker 1: a letter from at least one wickend about perpetuating negative 730 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:58,719 Speaker 1: stereotypes about witches. Well, and it turns out that isn't 731 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,440 Speaker 1: the only show that got stuck in the cycle. Apparently 732 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 1: there's one about Snuffy's parents getting divorced that never saw 733 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:07,560 Speaker 1: the light of day because it was confusing for kids 734 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:09,400 Speaker 1: and I know. Of course, one of the things I 735 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:12,400 Speaker 1: appreciate about Sesame Street is how they try to tackle 736 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,840 Speaker 1: some of these really tough topics. But in this episode 737 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:18,600 Speaker 1: they got really sad because they thought maybe Snuffy's dad 738 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:21,600 Speaker 1: had run away. And it did get revisited a few 739 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:24,000 Speaker 1: times later on the show, but not so head on 740 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:26,919 Speaker 1: as it did in that episode. And there's a Kermit 741 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,279 Speaker 1: the Frog news segment where he interviews a bird whose 742 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,239 Speaker 1: parents live in separate trees, and then where there's the 743 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:35,640 Speaker 1: character Abby Kadabbi and and and her parents have have separated, 744 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:37,600 Speaker 1: so they talked about that, but it's not quite the 745 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:39,520 Speaker 1: same as as the way they had originally done in 746 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:42,680 Speaker 1: the Snuffy episode. Well, on a slightly happier note, did 747 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:44,840 Speaker 1: did you realize that Elmo is the only Sesame Street 748 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:48,960 Speaker 1: character who's testified in front of Congress? Elmo claimed he 749 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:51,759 Speaker 1: was nervous at the time, and he uh, he testified 750 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,200 Speaker 1: about music education. I guess then this is some of 751 00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:57,000 Speaker 1: the transcript which Elmo, I guess did in Elmo's voice. 752 00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:00,239 Speaker 1: Elmo learned all kinds of things about music, like anyone 753 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 1: can make music, the whole world is full of music. 754 00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 1: Music helped Elmo learned the alphabet. If it wasn't for 755 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:08,719 Speaker 1: the ABC song, Elmo would be lost people. Wow, that's 756 00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:11,120 Speaker 1: pretty great. All right, Well, here's what I think. It's fascinating. 757 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,400 Speaker 1: Child psychologists thought it would be too confusing for people 758 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:18,440 Speaker 1: if kids watched humans and muppets interacting, so they split 759 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:21,120 Speaker 1: up the scenes. It was all humans and then segments 760 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,080 Speaker 1: with Burton Ernie, the only two characters on the show 761 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,120 Speaker 1: at that point. But in test, kids basically ignored the 762 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:30,040 Speaker 1: adults and turned away, and then they tuned in for 763 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:32,279 Speaker 1: the Muppets. And there's a rumor that at one point 764 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,360 Speaker 1: the producers thought about cutting all the adults and just 765 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:37,960 Speaker 1: making a show about Burton Ernie, which I'm sure it 766 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,359 Speaker 1: would have been amusing in itself. But when they saw 767 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,120 Speaker 1: how well Burton Ernie did on the screen, the writers 768 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:45,840 Speaker 1: decided to create more characters to build the show around. 769 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,240 Speaker 1: And of course that's how we got Big Bird, Oscar 770 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,320 Speaker 1: the Grouch, Snuphilopoicus and all the others. Even though I 771 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,400 Speaker 1: know so much about Jim Henson, i'd never heard that 772 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,359 Speaker 1: fact before. I really love that. So I'm gonna give 773 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:58,399 Speaker 1: you the trophy this week. Oh wow, it's such an honor. Well, 774 00:38:58,719 --> 00:39:01,160 Speaker 1: there were so many fact that we wanted to include 775 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:03,160 Speaker 1: in this episode, and even some other great ones that 776 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,400 Speaker 1: we weren't able to include. So maybe we'll have to 777 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:08,920 Speaker 1: do another Sesame Streed episode sometime. But for any of 778 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:10,640 Speaker 1: you that know of some great facts that we might 779 00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:12,920 Speaker 1: not have included today, we'd love to hear those from you. 780 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,160 Speaker 1: You can email us part time genius at how stuff 781 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,120 Speaker 1: works dot com or hit us up on seven Fact 782 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:21,400 Speaker 1: hot Line. That's one eight four PT Genius, and you 783 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,560 Speaker 1: can always reach us on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks so 784 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:27,480 Speaker 1: much for listening so well. Well, I I am curious 785 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:30,440 Speaker 1: do you ever feel akin to any Muppets? Like? Did 786 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:33,799 Speaker 1: you feel any sort of closeness to any of them? Now? 787 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 1: I mean I love certain characters, but I don't think 788 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:39,200 Speaker 1: it was because I felt that I was like them. 789 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:41,880 Speaker 1: But for some reason, honestly, like I was saying, Snuffy 790 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:43,960 Speaker 1: was always one of my favorites, and I don't know why. 791 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,960 Speaker 1: I just found him so fascinating, just amusing. How about you. 792 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:50,439 Speaker 1: I loved Fozzy Vera because he just told bad jokes 793 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:52,880 Speaker 1: all the time, you know, And I just found his 794 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:55,160 Speaker 1: character is so fun And I used to get so 795 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:57,760 Speaker 1: annoyed that everyone would tell me I was like Kermit, 796 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:00,200 Speaker 1: you know, like I didn't want I didn't want used 797 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:02,960 Speaker 1: to be my defining character. You don't want that. You 798 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:19,480 Speaker 1: don't want that. Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius 799 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:21,440 Speaker 1: is a production of how stuff works and wouldn't be 800 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,359 Speaker 1: possible without several brilliant people who do the important things 801 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:27,400 Speaker 1: we couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan McNeil does the 802 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:29,799 Speaker 1: editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme song and does 803 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:32,920 Speaker 1: the MIXI mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the exact 804 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:36,200 Speaker 1: producer thing. Gaveluesier is our lead researcher, with support from 805 00:40:36,239 --> 00:40:39,320 Speaker 1: the Research Army, including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas 806 00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:41,640 Speaker 1: Adams and Eve Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. 807 00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:43,680 Speaker 1: Good job, Eves. If you like what you heard, we 808 00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:45,800 Speaker 1: hope you'll subscribe, And if you really really like what 809 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:47,960 Speaker 1: you've heard, maybe you could leave a good review for us. 810 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:50,239 Speaker 1: Do we do? We forget Jason Jason, who