10 Surprising Fun Facts About Sesame Street

1.) According to Sesame Workshop, Elmo is the only non-human to testify before Congress. He lobbied for more funding for music education, so that “when Elmo goes to school, there will be the instruments to play.”

2.) Oscar the Grouch used to be orange. Jim Henson decided to make him green before season two. How did Oscar explain the color change? He said he went on vacation to the very damp Swamp Mushy Muddy and turned green overnight.

3.) One of Count von Count’s lady friends is Countess von Backwards, who’s also obsessed with counting but likes to do it backwards.

4.) In 1970, Ernie reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the timeless hit “Rubber Duckie.”

5.) Mr. Snuffleupagus has a first name—Aloysius.

9.) Caroll Spinney said he based Oscar’s voice on a cab driver from the Bronx who brought him to the audition.

8.) The show pays homage to ‘M*A*S*H’ Big Bird has a teddy bear named Radar, a tribute to the MASH character of the same name, who always sleeps with a teddy bear. Side note Big Bird is 8‘2”.

8.) A “Sesame Street” is named after the “Arabian Nights” phrase “Open, Sesame!” Show writer named Virginia Schone proposed the word “Sesame.” because it made it feel like it was loaded with a sense of adventure. The show was already set on an urban street, so “Sesame Street” just clicked.

9.) The Count is millions of years old. His birthday is on October 9, 1,830,653 B.C.

10.) In 1980, C-3PO and R2-D2 visited Sesame Street. They played games, sang songs, and R2-D2 fell in love with a fire hydrant

This old school video was created by Sesame Street.

“Sesame Street is a production of Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization which also produces Pinky Dinky Doo, The Electric Company, and other programs for children around the world.”

For more fun games and videos for your preschooler in a safe, child-friendly environment visit: www.sesamestreet.org

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