Sesame Street premiered on Nov. 10, 1969. In the last 45 years, Big Bird, Elmo, the Cookie Monster and the rest of the gang have changed the way children watch TV and learn. Many of us can't even imagine a time when Sesame Street wasn't a part of our lives.
Though there were many lessons about the alphabet, math and life in general to be learned from Sesame Street, there were also a lot of moments that made us go, "Huh?" We probably didn't pick up on any of this as kids, but looking back at some Sesame Street clips now, there are some segments that surprisingly made the cut. Here are eight of the weirdest moments from Sesame Street's 45 years so far.
Grover teaches civil disobedience (1969)
As civil unrest swept the nation, Sesame Street took this opportunity to teach children about civil disobedience. In this segment, Grover, who was originally green not blue, fights to be the first in line instead of all the way in the back, which is where he originally stands. This would have been an important lesson for viewers if it weren't for the fact that Grover eventually changes his mind and then is trampled on by his fellow muppets. What a way to go.
Kermit berates Cookie Monster (1969)
Everyone loves Kermit the Frog, but only when he's the calm, lovable and self-deprecating little amphibian. In this segment from Sesame Street's premiere season, Kermit explains emotions to viewers, and that includes anger. Lots and lots of anger. When Cookie Monster ruins Kermit's smiley-face display, he yells at the blue monster, threatening to tell his friends and his mother how terrible he is. All I learned from this is that you should never make Kermit angry, or else.
The Roosevelt Franklin muppet (1970 to 1975)
Roosevelt Franklin was one of the most controversial muppets in Sesame Street history. Many thought his appearance, rambunctious behavior and voice perpetuated African-American stereotypes. He was removed from the show in 1975, but there is speculation that Arrested Development resurrected the muppet in the form of Gob's racially-insensitive singing puppet Franklin.
Philip Glass' "Geometry of Circles" (1979)
And you thought Sesame Street couldn't be avant-garde. In 1979, Philip Glass composed a piece for the children's show to accompany an animated short that shows how many geometric shapes can fit inside a circle. The clip remains surreal to this day.
Smokey Robinson gets attacked, brought to you by the letter "U" (1989)
It doesn't get any better than seeing Smokey Robinson sing "You Really Got a Hole on Me." However, I could have done without the image of the letter "U" basically attacking and grabbing onto the singer as he desperately tries to get away. I have no idea what the lesson here was other than to help me learn what creeps me out.
Twin Peaks parody (1991)
You know you've made it when you get the parody treatment from Sesame Street, and as Twin Peaks mesmerized the nation in the early 1990s, it too ended up on the children's show as Twin Beaks. Some of the more mature themes of David Lynch and Mark Frost's surreal mystery were toned down of course, but this Sesame Street parody still retained much of its absurdity. The parody is brilliant, but it's still a very strange thing to see on Sesame Street.
Cookie Monster goes on a diet... sort of (2005)
Sesame Street caused a stir when it announced that Cookie Monster, famous for his insatiable appetite for the eponymous sweet treat, would be used to combat childhood obesity and teach children about the importance of moderation. The show kicked off this effort with the song "A Cookie is a Sometime Food" in 2005. People blew this out of proportion and took this to mean that Cookie Monster would suddenly be transformed into Veggie Monster. Sesame Street even poked fun at the controversy in a 2012 episode.
Kim Cattrall teaches us the word "fabulous" (2008)
I know Kim Cattrall and her sex-crazed Sex and the City character Samantha Jones are not the same person, but it's very hard to distinguish between the two. This was especially the case when Cattrall guest starred on Sesame Street in 2008. She tried to explain the word "fabulous" to viewers, and each time she uttered the word, it seemed like she was using it to describe something not-so-kid-friendly, if you know what I mean.
Image: Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images
