# A pop culture question about Mr. Rogers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 1999, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902 "1999-11-20T17:43:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 1999, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/1 "1999-11-20T17:43:00Z")
Without reruns,how many times has Mr. Rogers changed his sweater and shoes on his program? You’ve all secretly wondered about this yourselves, admit it. ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/2 "1999-11-21T06:47:00Z")
According to this page: [http://ericps.ed.uiuc.edu/npin/pnews/pnew197/pnew197l.html](http://ericps.ed.uiuc.edu/npin/pnews/pnew197/pnew197l.html) There are 260 new episodes a year. He’s been on for 32 years (give or take a couple months) So, not taking any hiatuses into account he has changed his sweater and shoes and sung that song about 8320 times! ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/3 "1999-11-21T06:48:00Z")
Try this: [http://ericps.ed.uiuc.edu/npin/pnews/pnew197/pnew197l.html](http://ericps.ed.uiuc.edu/npin/pnews/pnew197/pnew197l.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 1999, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/4 "1999-11-20T20:38:00Z")
Wow. This is why I LOVE THIS PLACE. My mental figuring was alot lower. I never thought the man did 260 new shows a year. ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 1999, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/5 "1999-11-20T21:45:00Z")
the amazing thing is that it’s the same pair of socks!which explains why that Speedy Delivery guy is always in such a hurry to get out of there. * * * “Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx ---
**Author:** ![LongHrn99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e4f/32.png) [@LongHrn99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LongHrn99)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/6 "1999-11-21T03:11:00Z")
This reminds me of a strange story I heard about Mr Rogers. I’ve been told that he was a sniper in the Vietnam War before he went on television, amassing the largest number of kills by a sniper before he was discharged. This _definitely_ has the makings of an UL, but I suppose that there is the slight possibility that it is true. Anyone know anything about this? * * * “There are many sweeping generalizations that are always true” -Space Ghost ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/7 "1999-11-21T03:24:00Z")
Yes, it’s true. Fred Rodgers, along with Dave Thomas, John Denver, and Ruth Westheimer was a member of the elite 105th Celebrity Sniper Battalion (“The Shooting Stars”). Jerry Mathers also was a member of this unit before being killed in action. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/8 "1999-11-21T03:51:00Z")
Mr. King, if you noticed the posters name it is Longhrn 99. which is translated as Long on Horns, short on brains for BELIEVING this stuff… I mean, the next thing you know is that Paul is Dead. * * * Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness. ---
**Author:** ![LongHrn99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e4f/32.png) [@LongHrn99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LongHrn99)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/9 "1999-11-21T04:07:00Z")
HEY, unless you’re an Aggie (and I hope you’re not), you can’t make cracks about me being a Longhorn. In any case, I didn’t say I believed it, I just said it sounded strange. If you’ll notice, I said there was a SLIGHT chance that it was true. I didn’t say I believed it was true. [sarcasm]And Paul IS dead, my uncle’s best friend’s girlfriend’s brother’s son told me that if you played Revolution Number 9 backwords it says “Paul is dead” over and over again, and I tried it and it DID!![/sarcasm] * * * “There are many sweeping generalizations that are always true” -Space Ghost ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/10 "1999-11-21T22:51:00Z")
Say, didn’t Mr. Rogers shoot Paul McCartney? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/11 "1999-11-21T23:02:00Z")
Nah, he was the guy behind the grassy knoll in Dallas. * * * “I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/12 "1999-11-21T23:18:00Z")
I wondered how long it would be before some Tsip showed his lack of class. Still a little soon isn’t it ,Long? I knew Fred Rogers I was a friend of fred Rogers and that ,sir, was no fred Rogers. * * * “Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/13 "1999-11-23T06:36:00Z")
Okay, just to give one straight answer here. According to one of my handy-dandy TV reference books (unfortunately, I don’t have it here) Mr. Rogers started as a show on a local public TV station in the 1950s, some time before the U.S. started sending troops to Vietnam. I now return you to the smart-alecks. ---
**Author:** ![neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ab097/32.png) [@neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neuro-trash_grrrl)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/14 "1999-11-23T17:40:00Z")
If I’m not mistaken, Fred Rogers was a _minister_ before he moved to the Neighborhood. * * * “That’s entertainment!” —Vlad the Impaler ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 1999, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pop-culture-question-about-mr-rogers/4902/15 "1999-11-24T06:29:00Z")
Fred Rogers was, is, and evermore shalt be an ordained Methodist elder. However, AFAIK, he does not serve a church as its minister, considering the show and its spinoffs his ministry.