# Mummenschanz! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733 "2020-01-21T02:54:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/1 "2020-01-21T02:54:11Z")
Who here has seen Mummenschanz? I’ve seen them in person 3 times and for some reason got to thinking about them today. I went to YouTube to see if they had clips up and not only did they have a bunch, they had [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfZUFswYGCI), which is a promotional piece for their current show and tour! I had no idea they were still performing! [Mummenschanz](https://www.mummenschanz.com/3/)! [Tour dates here](https://www.mummenschanz.com/tickets/). I think I might be able to fit in a trip to Rancho Cucamonga in March to see them; I just have confirm some work dates first. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/2 "2020-01-21T03:01:04Z")
I’ve seen them on [Letterman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv9rmeJ7IWc) and/or Leno but not live, so I chose “something else.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/3 "2020-01-21T03:05:30Z")
Muppet Show, late 70s. I had no idea they were still around. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/4 "2020-01-21T03:09:44Z")
I’ve seen 'em on TV a number of times, but never got to see them in person. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/5 "2020-01-21T03:14:40Z")
Never saw the show. The commercials for Mummenschanz that I saw as a lad in the 1970s freaked me out! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/6 "2020-01-21T03:18:08Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Muppet Show, late 70s. I had no idea they were still around. Probably saw that, too. Looooong time since I thought of them, but I recognized the name immediately. (There was an appearance of either them or Blue Man Group early on in Leno’s run. I remember immediately after the weirdness, they cut to Jay, who said “This is _not_ your father’s _Tonight Show_!”) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/7 "2020-01-21T03:35:47Z")
The word means nothing to me, and looking at the video, that doesn’t jar any memory cells. Looks fun in a Blue Man Group sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/8 "2020-01-21T03:52:13Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Never saw the show. The commercials for Mummenschanz that I saw as a lad in the 1970s freaked me out! I saw those commercials as well. Weird stuff. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/9 "2020-01-21T03:55:18Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I’ve seen 'em on TV a number of times, but never got to see them in person. Same here; mostly on Carson. Clever stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/10 "2020-01-21T04:25:45Z")
I saw them live when I was a kid. Must have been in the late ‘70s or early 80s because I knew them from The Muppet Show. I didn’t know they were still around either! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/11 "2020-01-21T04:33:00Z")
I’m not surprised they’re still around; like The Blue Man Group, performers can be substituted for others when necessary. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/12 "2020-01-21T05:20:07Z")
I remember reading a magazine article about them way back in the day. Games Magazine? Dynamite? I can’t remember. I thought it looked kind of cool. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/13 "2020-01-21T05:24:11Z")
Muppet Show for this 70s kid. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/14 "2020-01-21T05:57:04Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’ve seen them on [Letterman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv9rmeJ7IWc) and/or Leno but not live, so I chose “something else.” The Letterman thing was a spoof by Chris Elliot. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/15 "2020-01-21T06:40:39Z")
I also remember them from _The Muppet Show_. And also _Sesame Street_, I think. And probably Shields and Yarnell’s variety show. Certain parts of the 1970s were very weird. Puppets and mime artists and contortionists were a big deal for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/16 "2020-01-21T07:00:43Z")
I saw them live! My mom took me to see them in New York; can’t remember if that was before or after the Muppet Show appearance. I only remember one routine (they did about twenty): A round creature with a mouth (like Pac-Man, though this was several years before PAC-Man) was trying to eat a plant. But the plant kept squirming away, and the creature chased it all over, and once off, the stage. Finally captured it, chewed it a bit, and of course, spit it back out. 😛 Audience roared. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/17 "2020-01-21T09:01:08Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I also remember them from _The Muppet Show_. And also _Sesame Street_, I think. And probably Shields and Yarnell’s variety show. Certain parts of the 1970s were very weird. Puppets and mime artists and contortionists were a big deal for a while. I first saw them in this Sesame Street short where [they demonstrate the concepts of “same” and “different”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfh8wHVKouk) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/18 "2020-01-21T11:54:13Z")
I saw them live many years ago. Liked the show. Best moment: I was with my wife with my arm around her. One of the dancers, dressed as a giant hand, gently pushed our heads together. It was charming. If you like them, you may want to catch Momix, who I like even more. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/19 "2020-01-21T14:17:44Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > …And also _Sesame Street_, I think. And probably Shields and Yarnell’s variety show. Certain parts of the 1970s were very weird. Puppets and mime artists and contortionists were a big deal for a while. It was driving me nuts trying to remember where I first saw Mummenschanz. It must have been on Shields and Yarnell which I watched every week for some reason. 70s TV was like being chased by a bear. It didn’t have to be that good to get you to watch it; just better than the other two things in the same time slot. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733/20 "2020-01-21T14:21:33Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The Letterman thing was a spoof by Chris Elliot. Not all of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mummenschanz/846733.md?page=2)