• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

  • About
    • Affiliations & Honors
    • Contributors
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Technology
    • YouTube
    • Social Media
  • Lifestyle
    • Parenting
    • Travel
    • Safety
  • Education
  • Causes
  • Gift Guides
  • CONTACT
    • Work with Me

Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street! Did you know…

November 10, 2009 By Leticia


Jessica and I loved meeting Grover and Abby Cadabby at BlogHer 2008
and wish everyone at Sesame Street a Happy Birthday!

 

In honor of this monumental birthday, here are 40 Things You Didn’t Know About Sesame Street courtesy of Sesame Workshop:

1. Four First Ladies have visited Sesame Street: Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama.

2. Although Big Bird is a curious 6-year old and Oscar is a Grouch, the two are identical on the inside. At age 75, Carroll Spinney has been both characters since 1969.

3. Snuffleupagus is a Pachyderm who lives on Sesame Street. While it is thought that he was invisible, he has always lived on Sesame Street—he just has inconvenient timing.

4. A Birdseed Milkshake at Hooper’s Store cost $.20 in 1969 and costs $2.99 now.

5. Sesame Street has a subway stop that is powered by imagination, and one can get there by taking the “A, B, 1 or 2” trains. The actual studio for Sesame Street is in Astoria, Queens. The NYC N or R subway trains are the best bet.

6. Why the name Sesame Street? After a long search for a catchy name, one of the show’s writers suggested “Sesame Street.” The word “sesame,” an allusion to the fabled command from The Arabian Nights, “Open, Sesame!,” suggested excitement and adventure. Since the show was set in an urban street scene, “Sesame Street” seemed an ideal combination.

7. It takes two puppeteers to manipulate Ernie, Rosita, The Count, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Telly Monster and Snuffleupagus, while Big Bird, who is 8’ 2” tall, only requires one.

8. Elmo began his life on Sesame Street as a nameless Anything Muppet™, before becoming the 3 ½ year-old furry red monster that has tickled millions of children of all ages. Kevin Clash first donned Elmo in 1984. 25 years later, Elmo is still 3 ½ years-old.

9. James Earl Jones was the first celebrity to appear on Sesame Street.

10. Cookie Monster used to have pointy teeth.

11. Ernie is the only Sesame Street Muppet™ to have a built in smile.

12. Oscar was just as grouchy in 1969 as he is today. His first words on the show were “Don’t bang on my can! Go away.”

13. Two cast members have had their real-life children portray their TV children. Gabriella is Sonia Manzano’s daughter and she played “Gabi,” “Maria” and “Luis’,” daughter, as a child. Roscoe Orman’s son, Miles, also portrayed “Miles,” “Gordon” and “Susan’s,” adopted son when he was younger.

14. Bert has more than 368 bottle caps in his collection.

15. Mr. Hooper’s first name was Harold.

16. Oscar the Grouch was the color orange in season 1.

17. Currently, there are nine Elmo puppets, including a remote controlled version, used for various purposes.

18. Elmo in South Africa is named Neno while Elmo in Mexico is named Elmo.

19. Cameraman, Frankie Biando, has been filming Sesame Street since the first season and still operates Camera 1 on today’s set.

20. While some characters have puppeteer understudies, for the most part, only one puppeteer performs each Sesame Street Muppet™.

21. There are over 20 original and localized co-productions of Sesame Street including Galli Galli Sim Sim in India, Takalani Sesame in South Africa, Hikayat Simsim in Jordan and Plaza Sésamo in Mexico. Sesame content can be watched in over 140 countries around the globe.

22. Sesame Workshop conducts its global operations from 1 Lincoln Plaza in New York City.

23. Sesame Street has won 118 Emmys to date. The most for any television show in history.

24. Fran Brill, a veteran stage and film actress, was the first female puppeteer to work on Sesame Street. Brill was personally trained by legendary puppeteers Frank Oz and Jim Henson.

25. In 2006, Abby Cadabby moved to the Sesame Street neighborhood as a pink fairy-in-training. She was designed to inspire young girls and demonstrate positive female relationships. She was the first new female lead character added to Sesame Street in 13 years.

26. All of the Sesame Street Muppets™ have four fingers, except Cookie Monster, who has five.

27. Sesame Street’s original studio was the 81st Street Second Stage / Teletape studio. The game show Beat the Clock was moved out of the space to make room for the street set.

28. At the end of Sesame Street’s 40th season, 4212 episodes will have aired.

29. Sesame Street has won nine Grammy Awards.

30. Roscoe Orman is the third actor to portray Gordon and he joined the cast in season 5.

31. Elmo is the only puppet in history to have testified before Congress.

32. Sesame Street’s current Executive Producer, Carol-Lynn Parente, started her career at Sesame Workshop as a production assistant and rose all the way to the top.

33. There have been over 440 celebrity visitors to Sesame Street.

34. Big Bird is covered with approximately six thousand dyed North American turkey, coq, ostrich and hackle feathers.

35. Carroll Spinney still uses the same Oscar the Grouch puppet since Sesame Street’s second season.

36. While in 1969, the fabric for Bert and Ernie’s sweaters could be purchased at a store, their sweaters now have to be hand knit to match their original pattern.

37. Sesame Workshop has over 1000 licensees who create and sell Sesame Street products around the world.

38. As a nonprofit, product proceeds and philanthropic donations support Sesame Workshop’s educational research and creative content for children around the world.

39. The Jim Henson Company has built over 5000 puppets for Sesame Street over the past 40 years.

40. Sesame Street is the longest running children’s show and still produces new episodes every year!

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!
I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

 

40 Things You Didn’t Know About Sesame Street is courtesy of Sesame Workshop.

Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!

Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012

Related

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: Jessica McFadden, Sesame Street

Previous Post: « Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days DVD Review
Next Post: Mmmm…Free Cookies from Cheryl & Co! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JessicaAPISS says

    November 10, 2009 at 9:11 am

    I will never forget meeting our sweet little furry pal grover…and his personalized shout out to Little Miss Techie & Capt. Computer!

    Thanks for this informative piece, AWESOME!

  2. Moncherion says

    November 10, 2009 at 11:45 am

    Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street!

Primary Sidebar

about sidebar pic_profile pic

Hi! I'm Leticia, founder of Tech Savvy Mama! I'm an award-winning blogger, Washington, DC area mom of teens, middle school computer science teacher, and education consultant.  Read more...

TechSavvyMama logo board_sidebar divider

AFFILIATIONS & HONORS

_YouTube Parent Panel

_top50momblogger

TechSavvyMama logo board_sidebar divider

Subscribe

Never Miss a Post!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Consent*
Yes, I consent to being emailed
No, I do not want to be emailed
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide
No spam, ever. Promise!

Tech Savvy Mama on YouTube

<<< View More >>>

TechSavvyMama logo board_sidebar divider

INSTAGRAMMIN’

techsavvymama

DC area blogger & middle school computer science teacher focused on edu, family tech & teens. ❤s= 🚀 #STEM 🏃 #StJudeHeroes #legacyteamnuun 🏝 #Haiti

It was such a joy to be able to celebrate this mil It was such a joy to be able to celebrate this milestone! 🎉 Huge congratulations to Thomas and the Class of 2024! 🎓 #classof2024 #graduation
Happy Global Running Day! 🏃🏻‍♀️If you Happy Global Running Day! 🏃🏻‍♀️If you know me, you know you can always find me in Memphis running a race the first weekend in December for @stjude . I ❤️love ❤️ love ❤️ love ❤️this race because the race course is pretty flat, the weather is amazing, and the whole city of Memphis comes to cheer you on, you get to run through the St. Jude campus which is always inspiring, and it is just SO fun! 🎉 If you’ve ever thought of running a 5K, 10k, half, or full marathon, I invite you to register! Sign up to join me to run/walk/run+walk any distance and not only will I cheer you on as you get race ready but I will be your Marathon Weekend buddy. 🙌🏼 I promise to help get you race ready, will take you to all the best places in Memphis before the race, and to celebrate after with post-race drinks at the Peabody Hotel. 🍹Who is going to join me? Link to register in the first comment! 🏃🏻‍♀️ #stjudeheroes #globalrunningday #memphis #stjude #stjudedmv
The best part of @solairesocial is the incredible The best part of @solairesocial is the incredible variety of delicious food available in one place! 🎉 Our family of adventurous eaters has been anxiously awaiting the opening of this culinary collective and our first visit did not disappoint! 💕 Here’s a look at the diverse food concepts that @chefakhtar has carefully curated to be part of the Solaire Social culinary experience. 👀 Huge thanks to Solaire Social for inviting us to their influencer preview to enjoy the amazing culinary cultural concepts that we’re happy to have right in our backyard! I know the hardest part about our next visit will be choosing among all the incredible food at these 8 amazing restaurants! 🍽️ 

#SolaireSocial #SilverSpring #silverspringmd #montgomerycountymd #dmvfoodie #fifteensecondsofsummer
Chincoteague = Our island in the sun ☀️ Until Chincoteague = Our island in the sun ☀️ Until next time! 💕 more than #fifteensecondsofsummer #chincoteague #assateague #loveva #islandlife
The best way to start any day in Chincoteague is a The best way to start any day in Chincoteague is at @amarin_coffee_usa ! Their fresh baked buttery croissants (that are almost as big as your head!) are always such a treat when we’re here! 🥐❤️🥐 #fifteensecondsofsummer #chincoteague #civa #esva #coffeelovers
Fifteen seconds of sunset for #fifteensecondsofsum Fifteen seconds of sunset for #fifteensecondsofsummer ! 🌅 #chincoteague #loveva #esva #sunsetlovers
Is it officially summer for your family? It is for Is it officially summer for your family? It is for ours! ☀️Thomas finished his last day of high school and Emily is home from college for a bit so it’s summer in our house. 🙌🏼 We kicked off our summer at a @nationals game that included a win with 3 home runs! ⚾️ This year I’m joining @lashawnwiltz in 15 seconds of summer, sharing 15 seconds from my days so at the end, I can look back and remember the great things we did as a family before Thomas heads to college in the fall. 😢 Join in the fun by recording and sharing 15 seconds of your summer days and use the hashtag #fifteensecondsofsummer. It officially starts June 1 but join in whenever your summer begins! 🕶️🍉⛱️ #washingtondc #washingtonnationals #nats #baseball #summer
Today we’re celebrating National Rescue Dog Day Today we’re celebrating National Rescue Dog Day because we’re so glad Goldie and Murphy are part of our family! 🐶 We gave Goldie her forever home when she was 6 months old. She had been given up by her original family because she was just too much for them. She was an enthusiastic pup who loved to jump straight up in the air when she got excited and she used to hop the fence in the mornings to go visit her best dog friend, Katy, over our back fence. She still jumps from standing when she sees a deer, meets a favorite dog friend, or gets a visit from @lisatasch but now at age 5, she’s more calm and forever faithful. 🦮We met Murphy and his 9 brothers and sisters just days after he was born although we didn’t know he would be the puppy we’d claim as ours. Murphy has that puppy energy but in his quiet moments is a total love bug. He hogs the free space in our king bed (he even has his own pillow!) and loves nothing more than to press his body into me or lie directly on me. 🐾 Goldie and Murphy came to us through @labrescuelrcp and we couldn’t be happier that they’re part of our family! ❤️ #rescuedogday #labrescue #labrador #adoptdontshop
After 3 days at St. Jude Children’s Research Hos After 3 days at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, I’m leaving Memphis so very grateful to be able to support St. Jude’s mission of working to end childhood cancer. ❤️ Spending time connecting, brainstorming, and absorbing the wisdom of fellow Hero Ambassadors from around the country was inspiring because the work we do fundraising through our endurance events helps St. Jude do the incredible work they do to ensure families never receive a bill for their child’s treatment, housing, travel, or food and continue important research that will continue to reduce rates of pediatric cancer and other childhood diseases. I am so looking forward to running in Memphis again this December! 🎉 If you’ve ever thought of running a race that does so much good in the world, join me! I’d love to have you come to Memphis and run with me! Or you can always donate through the fundraising link in my bio. ❤️ #stjude #stjudeheroes #memphis #stjudedmv
Prom 2024! ❤️ #prom #classof2024 #senioryear # Prom 2024! ❤️ #prom #classof2024 #senioryear #lastfridaynight #latergram
When we bought our house 24 years ago, it came wit When we bought our house 24 years ago, it came with many things we didn’t love like rotted porch boards, 1 bathroom, and peeling paint (inside and out!) but it also came with things we did love like old, mature trees, crazy shaped boxwood bushes, and these spectacular peonies! 🌸 Every year when they bloom I’m so glad that these beauties conveyed with the purchase of our house and I’m glad we rebuilt our porch so we can step out our front door to admire them in their glory! 🩷#peonies #peonyseason #garden #blooms #spring
As a teacher and parent, I am well aware of the me As a teacher and parent, I am well aware of the mental health challenges our youth face and am really pleased to share that over the weekend I became certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing! 🎉 I’ve always worked to build relationships with the young people in my life- whether my kids’ friends or students- and this certification has made me more mindful of the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges so I can have important and supportive conversations when symptoms first start to appear. 🗣️A big component of the training also included developing a self-care plan which is critical when supporting others. 💕 I’m so grateful to have taken this certification for free through the University of Maryland whose blended learning format (2 hours of self paced online work + 5 hour instructor led class over Zoom) was fantastic! 💻 The teacher in me really applauds the course design and I’m glad to join the 3 million+ in the U.S. certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. 🏥 If this is something you’re interested in doing, University of Maryland has free courses on Saturdays or Sundays from 10-4pm between June-October. Swipe ⬅️ for more information, including a QR code with more information and a survey to take as part of the sign up process. And if you have any questions- leave a comment or DM me. I’m happy to help you get certified too! ❤️ #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthfirstaid #youthmentalhealth #mentalhealthawarenessmonth
Follow on Instagram

TechSavvyMama logo board_sidebar divider

SAVVY FINDS

Footer

Tech Savvy Businesswoman

Check me out across my social media channels for examples of how I can help amplify your company's brand, product, or cause!

_YouTube Parent Panel

techsavvymamasquarelogo_techsavvymama square logo

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Looking for Something?

Search by category…

or by date

DISCLOSURE POLICY

Copyright © 2025 Tech Savvy Mama · Designed by Hustle & Sway · Log in