I love Big Bird! A friend of mine has parents who knew Carol Spinney, and so has a signed copy of his book The Wisdom of Big Bird. Now this past year was the 50th anniversary of an annual puppet show he does at a nudist camp (but Big Bird being a nudist is not the punchline). At it he related a story he kept out of his book for fear it would be too depressing.
Back in the 1980s NASA had the idea of sending Big Bird into space. It would be a big publicity draw, the whole shuttle mission would be televised, and kids all over the world would get to watch their hero Big Bird explore the wonders of the solar system. However, the plan was scrapped once it became clear Big Bird's seven-or-eight-foot tall frame would not fit safely into the shuttle.
So instead NASA decided to recruit schoolteachers, finally settled on Christa McAuliffe, and on January 28, 1986 she and the rest of the crew of the Challenger were cleared for lift-off. Yeah--Christa McAuliffe's spot was originally intended for Big Bird. As horrifying as it was for the children who watched the disaster as it happened, one can only imagine how much more terrible it could have been. posted by schroedinger at 6:02 AM on October 30, 2007 [18 favorites]
1) That is an awesome word!
2) I'm amazed at how timeless Sesame St. can be. It wasn't until the very end of the song that I noticed that the clip is form 1969.
3) Schroedinger, that boggles the mind. posted by oddman at 7:52 AM on October 30, 2007
schroedinger: What a story!
caddis: I don't remember Put Down the Duckie kicking so much ass, maybe because was I was only two at the time. What a selection of guests. posted by danb at 8:47 AM on October 30, 2007
While not Big Bird related, I recently came across an absolute gem of a Sesame Street clip: Twin Beaks. There is very little educational value in this clip, but I'm sure it was hysterical to all the Lynch-loving moms and dads at the time. posted by avocet at 10:31 AM on October 30, 2007 [2 favorites]
Schroedinger, my God. Just contemplating the alternate reality where that happens gives me chills. I was one of those kids watching the shuttle.
I went on a road trip with my father, step-mother , and half brother and sister a decade or so ago. The little ones were pretty little, so we brought along a sesame street alphabet tape. It was wonderful! I knew a bunch of the songs from childhood and we all sang along happily.
The only only bitch of the tape was this very song, sung by Elmo at the beginning and the end of the alphabet. He appeared no where else on the cassette, and I always had the4 suspicion that they'd just rerecorded it and tacked it on to the tape do to Elmo's popularity, and because they couldn't find a single fucking song that the redheaded stepchild of the glorious jim henson tradition had actually worked a little verbal education into his usual dumbass tickle-me routine.
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posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:33 AM on October 30, 2007