What the hell is this, and how many drugs were consumed in the production of it?

A vintage Bert & Ernie sketch from 1969--and one of the few times that Bert successfully fools his roommate, too. (According to Muppet Wiki, this sketch first aired in Episode 14 of Sesame Street.)

From Episode 1316: Rhythmic sounds exist everywhere: ocean waves, hoofbeats and heartbeats, machines working, and musicians playing.

From Episode 1933: The title pretty much explains it all; Sesame Street used to air several films with more...the same marching band, judging by the uniforms. Some (like this clip) showed the people   more...forming/announcing a geometric shape; others taught numbers by counting drumbeats. (Before anyone asks: the three I've posted here are the ONLY clips I have from that collection so far.)  less

From Episode 514: The title pretty much explains it all; Sesame Street used to air several films with the same marching band, judging by the uniforms. Some (like this clip) showed the people forming/announcing   more...a geometric shape; others taught numbers by counting drumbeats. (Before anyone asks: the three I've posted here are the ONLY clips I have from that collection so far.)  less

From Episode 158: An accident-prone man describes the letter A to viewers, then lists various words beginning with A; objects illustrating each word hurtle onto a pile nearby. The pile eventually grows   more...too high, with painful results... (This cartoon is *begging* for a PG-rated parody with an attorney chasing that ambulance, in my opinion!)  less

I recently discovered this gem on YouTube, thanks to a user in Norway who uploads a lot of kidvid material. Before he posted this dubbed version, I hadn't seen the cartoon in ANY language since my kindergarten   more...years--and the Norwegian kids' reactions are just as spontaneously funny. (The subtitles, by the way, are my own...but still 100% accurate.)  less

From Episode 666: Two musicians strike their instruments twice, on the band leader's cue. (The band in this clip looks like the same one that did the "shapes in formation" films, although   more...I can't confirm that. Anyone out there have inside information?)  less

Mr. Chatterly invites a bull to discuss sports beginning with B. Unfortunately, the bull has also brought in sporting equipment to match every example--and insists on dumping it (literally!) on his host.   more... (I can't find an episode/season number for this clip. Judging by the sound effects and Mr. Chatterly's missing pipe, though, it probably first appeared in the early 1990s.)  less

In honor of Mother's Day (for Americans at least), I thought I'd post this classic short film from Sesame Street. Some parents would object to a baby getting a bath on national TV, but I'm sure the producers   more...just wanted to teach preschoolers who were curious about what Mommy is doing with their younger brother or sister. (Many thanks to Mike Statz for letting me clean and repost this clip!)  less

From Episode 158: A parody of the melodramatic soap-opera style, with lessons about problem solving and frustration added in for good measure. (NOTE: This sketch first aired in Episode 112.)

From Episode 158: Firefighters go to work as a folksy song about their job plays in the background. (This clip originally aired in Episode 131, the Season 2 premiere.)

From Episode 158: A witch entertains two boys with a rhyming story full of words that begin with A, then invites them to guess the moral. (This clip first aired in Episode 130, the Season 1 finale.)

The title pretty much says it all, except.--did you notice that Cookie Monster never even MENTIONS food or being hungry in this clip, let alone eats anything? Talk about casting against type! :-)   more...(According to Muppet Wiki, this clip first aired in Episode 573 of Sesame Street.)  less

One of Jeff Hale's classic alphabet cartoons from the mid-70s: the Typewriter Guy has trouble hushing a noisy (but unseen) audience.

One of Jeff Hale's classic alphabet cartoons from the mid-70s; the Typewriter Guy gets into trouble as usual, but finds a creative solution to his problem this time.

From Episode 4158: Backed by several other animal musicians, Baby Bear leads a James Brown-style song about his father's love of hugging. (One of my fellow Sesame fans online swears this clip has been   more...around for at least ten years; can anyone else confirm that, please?)  less

From Episode 158: The original video version (with a solitary monkey) of Joe Raposo's well-known song about wishing for a playmate on an otherwise perfect day.

From Episode 158: Oscar the Grouch uses a "Wet Paint" sign to keep the neighbors from disturbing his nap; but his idea backfires when everyone stops by to tell him the paint (WHAT paint?) has   more...dried.  less

From Episode 158: Ernie asks Cookie Monster to help him with a lecture about the letter A, and shows an apple as a visual aid. Cookie Monster, true to form, eats the apple...by tossing it into his mouth   more...in one gulp. (Some of the earliest sketches with Cookie included that visual gag; I wonder if any preschoolers tried to imitate it?) NOTE: This sketch first appeared in Episode 47 of Sesame Street.  less

From Episode 158: Children instruct an unseen artist to draw the animal step by step, correcting him and making humorous comments along the way. (Several similar cartoons existed: most showed drawings   more...of people in uniform, but one of the oldest has the artist "draw" the letter M.)  less

From Episode 158: Once again, the title says it all. (Sesame Street wasn't officially using numbers above ten as "sponsors" yet, incidentally; I suspect the producers were hoping for an even   more...20 lay-ups, but took what they could get!)  less

From Episode 158: Bob tries another version of the game, hoping that viewers will spot the set with a different number of toys.

From Episode 158: Bob challenges the viewers to find which group of fruits is different; the answer has something to do with numbers.