# Oscar the Grouch is married? What else? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334 "2008-10-03T15:30:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/21 "2008-10-03T22:39:16Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Someplace in there I am quite certain I saw Disney, so I’m going with “yea they bought it”. Too bad, it was a pretty good institution in the early days I think. [Oh, balls.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Einstein) That’s depressing. My DVD’s are all pretty ancient hand-me-downs, without Disney labeling. Showers, kitchen cleaning and making food are \*exactly \*the times when I approve of using the television as a babysitter. Hot soapy water, knives and stoves are not appropriate things for an infant to be carried around, even in a sling. 200 years ago, you woulda had three grandparents, 4 aunties and 6 older children in your house to “take care of the baby” while you roasted a mastodon over the hearth. Today we have the magic flickering box. Use =/= abuse. Yes, yes, I know the goal is no television at all, and absolutely lots of kids watch way too much (as do lots of grownups). My personal goal is to have a decent homemade meal on the table 5 nights a week, and if that means the sprog gets to goo at a big yellow bird for an hour, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/22 "2008-10-03T22:47:09Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > [Oh, balls.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Einstein) That’s depressing. My DVD’s are all pretty ancient hand-me-downs, without Disney labeling. > > Showers, kitchen cleaning and making food are \*exactly \*the times when I approve of using the television as a babysitter. Hot soapy water, knives and stoves are not appropriate things for an infant to be carried around, even in a sling. 200 years ago, you woulda had three grandparents, 4 aunties and 6 older children in your house to “take care of the baby” while you roasted a mastodon over the hearth. Don’t be silly. Mastodons have been extinct for nearly two THOUSAND years, as the nails of Jesus’ crown of thorns were carved from the tusk of the last one. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/23 "2008-10-03T23:28:44Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Cookie Monster has _always_ liked fruits and veggies (and a plethora of completely inedible objects) and cookies continue to be his favorite item of all. But, after his “crazy times in seventies and eighties” he now knows that cookies must be consumed in moderation. See, someone else knows the truth! Indeed, Mr. Monster has always enjoyed various foods, but has (tried) to cut back on cookies after those “crazy times”- as he himself put it, “Me was like the Robert Downey Jr. of cookies.” > [@WhyNot](#): > > At least three of the main Muppet characters can’t pronounce “disappeared” correctly (Baby Bear, Telly and Elmo). I’m not sure about this (although there’s a possiblity that they had never heard the word before and were just mimicking Baby Bear- how many times does the word “disappeared” come up in conversation on Sesame Street, anyway), lthough Baby Bear has an acute case of Elmer Fudd Syndrome, Telly speaks perfect English. Elmo also speaks perfect English, except he has a tendency to refer to himself in the third person (for example, “Elmo is so happy you came to play with him today”). > [@wolfman](#): > > With that non-objective cheerleading one might begin to think you were a corporate lackey deep in the pocket of the letter “J” Sesame Workshop is a non-profit organization (all the money they make on merchandise goes back directly into their work), so I don’t think I’d be a “corporate” lackey. But I would be indeed happy to help promote both their work and that of the letter J, which besides being an important letter, has a [kick-ass theme song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4bJgTd72AE). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/24 "2008-10-04T00:07:03Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > See, someone else knows the truth! Indeed, Mr. Monster has always enjoyed various foods, but has (tried) to cut back on cookies after those “crazy times”- as he himself put it, “Me was like the Robert Downey Jr. of cookies.” I suppose posting [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9rzMaAucI4) is obligatory now. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/25 "2008-10-04T00:09:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > I suppose posting [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9rzMaAucI4) is obligatory now. That’s good enough for me- I’ve always loved that parody. > [@Malthus](#): > > I wrote a rather mean-spirited version of a Thomas script once, I think I even posted it here somewhere … Would that be the Nazi Thomas? I think I recall enjoying that. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/26 "2008-10-04T00:30:40Z")
I love the idea of an addict Cookie Monster. As long as he never completely gives up and goes veggie, he’s got my support\*. What else has changed about Sesame Street though? You know, leaving personal opinions some certain companies depiction of women and zombie kids aside. - my personal recipe of oatmeal chocolate covered peanut butter cookies. I assume that is the proper way to deal with addiction. You know, by giving it higher and higher quality heroin. Did I say heroin? I meant cookies. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/27 "2008-10-04T01:02:21Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > What else has changed about Sesame Street though? The real answer: not much. “Elmo’s World” was the most drastic change of the past decade, but it’s been around for almost a decade now, so it’s very much an established part of the Street by this point. Besides the Wiki, the Sesame press kit should give you a basic rundown on the [Muppets](http://archive.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/pressroom/presskits/season39/muppets_on_sesame_street.php) and [humans](http://archive.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/pressroom/presskits/season39/cast_bios.php). Abby Cadabby, a fairy-in-training, is one of the newer Muppets, and she has quickly taken her place along the A-list of Sesame Street. And do take a chance to watch some videos on sesamestreet.org- it is a lot of fun watching old clips and discovering new ones. (I can’t help it- I _am_ in the pockets of Big Alphabet.) NOTE: As you are anti-Disney, you may be interested to know that the word “Muppet” is a registered trademark of The Muppets Studio LLC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, who purchased the rights to the _Muppet Show_ characters (including Kermit the Frog) from The Jim Henson Company in 2004. However, the _Sesame Street_ Muppets are owned by Sesame Workshop (known as Children’s Television Workshop until 2000), who purchased the rights to the characters from Henson in 2000. The Sesame characters are still referred to as “Muppets” under license from Disney/Muppets Studio. Mr. the Frog still occasionally appears in some of his classic sketches on the show, again with the kind permission of The Muppets Studio. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/28 "2008-10-04T02:45:20Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > As you are anti-Disney, you may be interested to know that the word “Muppet” is a registered trademark of The Muppets Studio LLC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, who purchased the rights to the _Muppet Show_ characters (including Kermit the Frog) from The Jim Henson Company in 2004. However, the _Sesame Street_ Muppets are owned by Sesame Workshop (known as Children’s Television Workshop until 2000), who purchased the rights to the characters from Henson in 2000. The Sesame characters are still referred to as “Muppets” under license from Disney/Muppets Studio. Mr. the Frog still occasionally appears in some of his classic sketches on the show, again with the kind permission of The Muppets Studio. Jesus legalese, what the hell does all that mean? Does my “bailout” money help them in any way? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/29 "2008-10-04T03:10:57Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Does my “bailout” money help them in any way? [I don’t think so](http://supportus.sesameworkshop.org/site/c.nlI3IkNXJsE/b.2748671/k.9BF1/How_We_Are_Funded.htm): > [@Sesame Workshop](#): > > Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational 501(c)(3) organization with charitable, tax-exempt status. The Workshop uses the funding it receives from various sources to develop and produce multimedia initiatives that address critical needs of children around the world. Through these projects, we are able to make meaningful, measurable, and lasting differences in children’s lives. > > Our support comes from individuals, foundations, corporations, government agencies, program sales and product licensing. > > We are stepping up our efforts to involve many more individuals in our work. As a mission-driven, nonprofit educational organization in a world dominated by large, for-profit media companies, it is important that we maintain our freedom to innovate on behalf of children, without over-reliance on commercially-based revenue. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/30 "2008-10-04T03:44:57Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > [I don’t think so](http://supportus.sesameworkshop.org/site/c.nlI3IkNXJsE/b.2748671/k.9BF1/How_We_Are_Funded.htm): Oh you say that now, but pretty soon they’ll be lookin for loans to pay Bert an Ernie and I’m bettin that comes outa social security somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/31 "2008-10-04T06:45:38Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > I recall hearing (sorry, no cite offhand) that they made Snuffy visible to adults in order to prevent children from thinking that adults would not believe them, in the event of molestation or something like that. IE, Big Bird and the kids can see Snuffy, but not adults, the adults think they’re lying; kid is molested, tells a grownup who didn’t see it, the adult thinks the poor kid is lying. Didn’t mean to be so obtuse - my point was that this happened nigh on twenty years ago; I couldn’t tell if **KTK** was being snarky or was genuinely out of touch with events on the Street that occurred long before the Henson era came to an end. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334/32 "2008-10-04T14:31:45Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Today we have the magic flickering box. Heh. Twenty years ago, the GM in my DnD cell had a _Magic Box of Flickering_ – one glance at it and, if you failed your Wisdom save, you were incapable of any action (except watching the _Box_) for an hour. Evil object, just pure evil. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grouch-is-married-what-else/466334.md?page=1)