[[WMG: ''Series/SesameStreet'' is a metaphor for mental illness]]
All of the monsters are "monsters" because that's how society perceives of people with mental illness for example
* Ernie has ADD. He shows several of the classic signs of this condition
* Bert and the Count both have OCD. They manifest in different ways. With Bert it is with keeping things neat with Count he has OCD with counting things.
* Grover has Obsessive Compulsive personality disorder (distinct from OCD). people with this condition are obsessed with things like order, routine, or rules to the point that the main object of the activity is lost. They are often seen as both workaholics and perfectionists which is what we see in Grover. His OCPD manifests itself with the many jobs he holds.
* Cookie Monster has a binge eating disorder. This is self explanatory because he has habit of eating things with a lack of nutrition, especially non-food items.
* Oscar has Anti Social Personality Disorder. He is often shown to lack empathy and loves to lie to others in order to manipulate them. His irritability is another way that this manifests.
* Big Bird and Zoe have Schizophrenia. This condition involves having hallucinations and delusions. Zoe's talking to her pet rock could be either one of these. It also explains why she has so many more family members present than most other characters. They aren't actually there, she just pretends they are. Big Bird also believes that Snuffy is imaginary until the rest of the cast introduces him.
* Elmo has Narcissistic personality disorder. This explains why he talks in third person to emphasize himself. He is also usually concerned with his own agenda (Elmo Saves Christmas and Elmo's World are the most notable representations of this).
* Abby Cadabby has Megalomania. She believes that magic can solve the problems.
* Telly has Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This is self explanatory by how he worries about everything.
* Prairie Dawn has Histrionic personality disorder. She is always seeking attention like behavior. Her mature attitude could be another way this manifests

* All the human characters represent the family, friends, and acquaintances of the mentally ill. They are shown from many angles because there are many ways to approach this subject.

** That’s ridiculous. First off, Elmo is 3 years old. Children don’t start developing theory of mind until around 4 or 5, which is why personality disorders can’t be diagnosed until adulthood. Of course he acts narcissistic! Secondly, Zoe, and Big Bird are also children. It’s common for children to believe in magic or have imaginary friends. That doesn’t mean they’re schizophrenic, that just means they’re imaginative. Also, Big Bird knew Snuffy wasn’t imaginary. When Snuffy was first introduced in the early 70s, none of the adults ever saw him. Only Big Bird saw him. Every time Big Bird tried to get the adults to meet him, something silly would happen and they wouldn't meet each other due to it. Because of this, the adults assumed Snuffy was an imaginary friend. It wasn't until the mid-80s that they all finally met him. The adults apologized for how they acted. Big Bird never thought he was imaginary. Also, people with schizophrenia aren’t pretending. They genuinely believe what they are seeing is real. Thirdly, Binge Eating Disorder isn’t eating foods with a lack of nutrition. Binge Eating Disorder is when you eat unusually large amounts of food in one sitting, and feeling that your eating habits are out of control due to that. The closest disorder that fits what you are describing is Pica, which Cookie Monster doesn’t have because cookies are edible, even if a bit unhealthy. Fourth, Oscar is also a child. Like I said, children are little shits, and have trouble seeing other people’s perspectives, especially if they’re small children. Most children have tried manipulating adults to get what they want. Chances are, Oscar will grow out of it. Also, if you were a child and living in a trash can like him, I guarantee you would be grumpy all the time and manipulate to get what you want from people too. Fifth, lots of people have more than one job. Doesn’t mean that they have OCPD. Same thing with Abby who is both a fairy and a kid. She is probably always suggesting magic to solve problems just because she thinks it’s the easiest way to fix it, not because she’s obsessed with her own power. She’s a kid learning how to problem solve, and she’s slowly learning that some problems don’t have the easiest solutions. Sixth, as someone with OCD themselves, Count and Bert probably don’t have it. The main symptom of OCD is obsessive thoughts, which is kinda in the name. The both of them have shown many times that they’re able to stop cleaning or counting if they need to without much discomfort. Having real OCD means that you can’t let go of those thoughts, and you need to do your compulsions to make these thoughts go away, even if temporarily. Seventh, Prairie is also most definitely a kid, and again, kids can’t be diagnosed with personality disorders. Kids naturally love attention, that doesn’t mean they have a disorder! Again, chances are, she will grow out of her attention seeking behavior. Though, I do agree with the part that Ernie might have ADD.

[[WMG: The real appearance of the Big Bird]]

http://pristichampsus.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=big+bird#/d2elvxd

Although, to be fair it was kinda of obvious.


[[WMG:Mr. Hooper faked his death.]]
Mr. Hooper's death is very mysterious. We never have been told why or how he died, so it's possible that he really found owning the store too stressful, especially with Big Bird always mispronouncing his name. So he could have ran away to pursue a new career. However, he never thought that Big Bird, being a big friend of his, would react to this, so he made the other adults make an excuse -- he's dead -- and explain it to Big Bird. Yes, one of the greatest moments is Sesame Street history was all arranged by Mr. Hooper to get Big Bird off his back.

* I have two words for the original poster: YouBastard
* Doubtful. I think the reason the cause of Mr. Hooper's death was never explained was because it wasn't important. Most children in the show's target demographic wouldn't understand whether someone died of a heart attack, pneumonia, an accident or complications from Alzheimer's. The basic message has always been, "At some point in our lives, we will die. Everyone dies, and the reason it has to be this way is, "Just because." Very simple.
** Agreed. Although Big Bird would sometimes test Hooper's patience -- as he did with everyone, just because that's who he was -- it's unlikely that Hooper staged his death to give Big Bird the hint that he just wanted him to go away. That would be the ultimate cruel act that the other adults would ''never'' have endorsed, let alone gone along with, anyway. [[note]](And neither would the writers or anyone associated with the show agreed to such an explanation ... again, it would give children the wrong impression that older people stage their deaths to get the kids to "go away" and that "grandpa and grandma actually hated you." If such a storyline explanation – Hooper staging his death to get away from Big Bird – were given on a show such as family ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (such as for humor and satirical parody) then fine ... different show, different audience. But most certainly not for ''Sesame Street'' or any show like it, not in the least.)[[/note]] At the end of the day, Hooper loved and nurtured Big Bird and looked out for him in every way, and his death created a big void on the Street that, even 35 years later, is felt.
** [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Who's to say Mr. Hooper didn't get murdered?]]
** I recall reading somewhere (can't remember where, might have been the other Wiki) that the reason why they didn't explain the cause of Hooper's death is because they didn't want to scare children and make them paranoid. The mission of the episode was to explain that death is permanent and that although things will never be the same again, it's okay to miss a loved one who has died. The cause of death just wasn't important.

[[WMG:Joe Raposo also planned a version of "Everybody Eats"/"Everybody Sleeps" to fit the "Goodbye Mr. Hooper" episode ...]]
... as "Everybody Cries." Simply put, Raposo's song lyrics would explain — with the exact same musical track as the earlier songs, just with different lyrics — that everybody cries at some point and the accompanying montage of videos would illustrate the different reasons people cry: Some people cry happy – e.g., a wedding proposal (where a young woman accepts her boyfriend's proposal) or at a wedding, and someone laughing so hard at a funny movie – while others cry sad, such as the disappointment of losing an emotional game or (to fit the show's theme of death) mourning at a funeral; some cry when throwing a tantrum (eg a child after not getting his way, or the comedic reaction of Lucy Ricardo from ''Series/ILoveLucy'' (when she's told she cannot be in the show)); and some people cry in pain after being hurt (perhaps a kid who had just broken his arm in a fall or an athlete winching in pain being carried off the football field). Animals crying, a baby shortly after birth and the stereotypical film of a chef tearing up while chopping an onion illustrate other types of crying. Famous photos and videos of people crying would fill out the song, including a still of the famous "The Crying Frenchman" photo from World War II. The main story would be the baby crying because he's hungry for milk ... and in the final act his mother gives him a nice bottle of cool, soothing milk ... and the baby is pacified. Said segment airs just before or after the "Goodbye, Mr. Hooper" episode's signature skit, and the segment is rerun through the early 1990s, rotated with "Everybody Eats" and "Everybody Sleeps."

[[WMG:The Count's obsession with counting things was begun by the other Muppets]]
He's a vampire, right? And yet he never attempts to bite anyone. He could terrorize the entire street with his powers, but just stays in his castle counting things. Wonder why? Look up any collection of vampire legends, and you'll discover that a traditional way to protect yourself from them was to scatter seeds around their coffin. Vampires apparently have OCD and will be unable to resist counting them all. By the time they finish it will be daybreak and they will have to return to their coffins. So someone (my money's on Kermit, he's the only one with his head in the game.) on Sesame Street realized they had a dangerous nosferatu in their midst, and performed this trick night after night to keep him at bay. After months or years of never being able to go on the hunt because of the seeds, he finally cracked and started to simply count ''everything''. And the grinning jocular Count we know and love was born! In fact, maybe the seeds in question were sesame seeds. They named the locale after them, and now he feels compelled to count everything on the street.
* Or similarly, he's a Literature/{{Discworld}} style "black ribboner" who uses a compulsion to count as a substitute for drinking blood.
* Another possibility is that the Count belongs to the same race of vampires as Mitchell in ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}''. For these vampires, blood is more of a craving than a necessity: like Mitchell, the Count is currently on the wagon, and counts to take his mind off his cravings. Also, Mitchell can come out during the day ([[Literature/{{Twilight}} without sparkling]]) which the Count does regularly.
** Which actually makes him like Hal from the same series who has to do things like count every day unless he turn into the murderous monster he once was. This kinda puts a tragic twist on all the times the other muppets get annoyed at The Count for counting all the time as he is silently pleading with them that he has to otherwise he'll lose control of his mind and kill his very friends that are getting annoyed with him.
* I always thought he was just a [[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Malkavian]].

[[WMG:Gordon is not a name, but an [[LegacyCharacter inherited title]].]]
When one Gordon dies or is "Vanished" there is always another that will rise up to take his place. This is to give the impression that Gordon is immortal.
* Or a WMG/TimeLord.
* The original Gordon has been retired since the 70s and is living like a king in Patagonia.
** Goodnight Elmo, sleep well, I'll most likely kill you in the morning.
*** You guys rule. Also, for the eight people who don't get the joke: [[Film/ThePrincessBride there you go.]]

[[WMG:Snuffleupagus is a dream creature who eventually materialized.]]
I'm really dating myself with this one, but originally, only Big Bird ever saw Snuffy. He'd wander off whenever Big Bird wanted to introduce him, leading people to believe that this was just Big Bird's imaginary friend that he took too seriously. How in the world can a giant furry elephant "sneak away" without anyone seeing him? Well, he ''was'' Big Bird's imaginary friend, but he eventually was given enough of Big Bird's belief to manifest a physical body.
* So Big Bird is Literature/{{Haruhi|Suzumiya}}?
** Haruhi is Big Bird?! God help us all. Oh, wait...''she won't''.
* Sesame Street s (or operates on the same belief->deity system) as Literature/{{Discworld}}.
* Or WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends
* Or WebAnimation/HomestarRunner
* Or he's a [[Series/SuperNatural Tulpa]]

[[WMG:Oscar's can is a TARDIS]]
Pretty much self-explanatory. It can fit Oscar, Slimey, and an ''Elephant''. There's also a pool, bowling alley, and piano in there. Oscar himself is some species who discovered the TARDIS after the previous owner used up his regens.

[[WMG: The portal is Oscar's trash can, and Grouchland is hell.]]
* Or at least Heck.

[[WMG: S.A.M. the Robot is a [[Series/DoctorWho Dalek]].]]
Unfortunately, he's... special.

[[WMG: The pickup truck that Cookie Monster ate back in '75 was Kermit's.]]
He had, for whatever reason, left it in the CTW parking area rather than at home or in airport long-term parking when going to the UK to do ''Series/TheMuppetShow''. When they were bouncing around the concept in a script meeting, Cookie said, "Hey, I know who truck we use! It look delicious!"
--> "Me do craaaazy stuff in '70s and '80s!"
--> - Cookie Monster on ''Series/TheColbertReport''

[[WMG: Sesame Street was supposed to have entirely different messages, mostly about tolerance for others or not having unacceptable behavior, but more recent executives have caused that plan to backfire.]]
Oscar is homeless, the Count has OCD, Big Bird is mentally disabled and hallucinated Snuffleupagus as the result of a separate disorder, Bert is a furry (feather furry?) and intolerant of others, Ernie has ADD, Elmo talk to strangers (A lot), and "C" was for "Cocaine". Grover is supposed to be the one viewers associate themselves with, since he learns most of the lessons that Big Bird doesn't. Now, Oscar has a magical land inside his trash can, the Count turned into a sillier character than he should be for his affliction, Big Bird is a young bird of a really large species, Bert is just mildly interested in pigeons and a kindly character in some media, Ernie is a perfectly normal kid, if a bit imaginative, Elmo doesn't talk to anyone but his goldfish and other kids, and "Cookies are a Sometimes Food". Grover's also a just another kid character since they changed Big Bird and dropped Ernie's ADD.

[[WMG: Cookies are a metaphor for crack cocaine]]
In extension to the WMG above, I'd like to proposition that the C the Cookie Monster sings about really is for Cocaine.
Evidence: The Cookie Monster has googly eyes, he tries to eat things if he can't get any more cookies (i.e. trying to snort things that won't actually get him high) and when eats cookies he does it so quickly it looks like he's snorted them. He is also clearly addicted.

[[WMG: Elmo is a pedophile with a similar disease to [[Manga/LuckyStar Konata and her mom]].]]
He's been the same height for at least twenty years, acts crazy and has a strangely decorated house with a bunch of kids and a goldfish in, and there is no way that he hasn't been buying LSD from Oscar since they started the "rainbow portal in Oscar's trash can" specials. Yes, those are poison oak epileptic trees lining the sidewalks of Sesame Street.
* It's not poison oak, it's [[TheScrappy Elmo]].
* How is "Elmo is a pedophile" [[http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2012/11/20/kevin-clash-quits-elmo-gig/1716901/ not confirmed]]?

[[WMG:Elmo is Pee-Wee Herman in disguise]]
Think about it: Elmo didn't become popular until after Pee-Wee's fall from grace; they both have similar mannerisms (like arm-waving and laughing at the end of sentences); and Elmo's world looks an awful lot like the Playhouse.

[[WMG: Elmo is [[Literature/{{Hogfather}} The Bogeyman]].]]
He's a small, hairy monster who likes children and lives in a world where everything is made of scribbles.

[[WMG:Count Von Count is [[VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou Sho Minamimoto's]] father.]]
One, two, three! Three factoring hectopascals! Ah, ah, ah!

[[WMG: The street is near a portal to Hell]]
But all of the demons are friendly, or at least happy to have escaped from hell.

[[WMG: There may be an episode that explains where almost all of the original cast members --such as Bob, Gordon, Susan, Maria, Luis, Gina, Miles, Gabi, etc.-- are after their respective departures.]]
While most of the characters were [[PutOnABus dropped from the show]] in the most recent seasons usually [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome without explanation]], it may be presumed that Bob, Gordon, Susan, Maria, Luis, and Gina might've moved out of Sesame Street, while Miles and Gabi have graduated from college and got jobs outside of Sesame Street.

[[WMG: The Count is not a vampire.]]
He's actually just an insane math teacher who believes he is a vampire, or at least enjoys pretending to be.
* Somewhat confirmed seeing as he is able to walk around in broad daylight without catching fire or [[Literature/{{Twilight}} sparkling]].
** See OurVampiresAreDifferent; Sunlight was not originally lethal to vampires, that's a 20th-century movie retcon.
*** A Crossover/Crack FanFic this Troper recently discovered explains it by his medaillon which protects him due to some ritual (it's only glossed over).
* He may be a math teacher by day, but by night he is a pimp. [[Creator/DaveChappelle They don't outright say he's a pimp but I know a pimp when I see one]]. [[BadassCape He's got a cape and everything.]]

[[WMG:Some of the muppets are half-breeds]]
Bert, Ernie, Prairie Dawn, etc. are half-monster and half-human, which is why they are small and colorful, fuzzy (not furry), but generally humanoid.
* I came here to post this exact theory but an alternate came to me which is that...

[[WMG:The Not-monster muppets, the monster muppets, and the humans are all related.]]
Not in a family sense, but in a genetic sense. Basically, my theory is that the non-monster muppets, and the monster muppets are both evolutionary off-shoots of humanity. At some point, the strain that would become the non-monster puppets stopped, while the strain that would become the monster muppets kept going. And of course normal humans are still themselves.

[[WMG: The Count is purple because of his sunblock.]]
He uses the purple kind for kids to make sure he doesn't miss anywhere, and uses enough of it that he can't rub it in enough that it turns clear.

[[WMG: Elmo is an EldritchAbomination]]

His "world" is drawn in crayon, and even though it is comprehensible, you lose your sanity by looking at it. The creep can see his fish's thoughts, I think that says it all.

[[WMG: Sesame Street is in (or located near) [[WesternAnimation/{{Doug}} Bluffington]]]]
All the puppet humans have odd skin colors (purple, blue, green). Need I say more?
* If Sesame Street is part of that polluted cesspool it certainly explains this origin story for Oscar...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqpak5lFxvs

[[WMG: Gonnigan has prime SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome potential.]]
Think about it. He's the shy one of the PowerTrio without as much self confidence as the others, yet he's shown us he's just as capable. He clearly cares for his friends and vice versa. Therefore, there will one day come a crisis that will leave Abby and Blögg incapible of solving it, so Gonnigan will have to solve it himself. And although he'll doubt himself at first, [[ThePowerOfFriendship his desire to help his friends]] will influence him into saving the day... epically. Of course, [[CowardlyLion he'll modestly brush off his display of awesome]].
* Cool thanks for making me more disappointed that we never got anymore of Flying Fairy School...

[[WMG: The monsters are the [[Webcomic/GirlGenius Jaegermonsters]] who didn't 'take']]
Jaegermonsters are specially-created human-based constructs designed to be extremely colorful killing machines with interesting and unique speech patterns, created by a baseline human drinking the Jaegerdraught. We know many, possibly even most, who take the Jaegerdraught, don't transition successfully and become Jaegers, and that everyone reacts differently. The Monsters of Sesame Street are actually the most embarrassing of the failures--instead of becoming beserker super soldiers, you get, well...Elmo.
* In Elmo's case, you could argue that he is actually a kind of stealth WSD (Weapon of Self-Destruction), because his extreme annoying cuteness induces all but the strongest/stupidest of his targets to commit suicide. He was designed not to have this effect on kids to prevent collateral damage of killing innocents.

[[WMG: Big Bird is the last living moa bird.]]
* The supposedly extinct Moa got to be [[http://www.sheldoncomics.com/archive/110516.html twelve feet tall!]] As we all know, Big Bird hasn't even grown up yet. Poor kid, LastOfHisKind, no wonder he has to be raised collectively by everyone on the street. It ''would'' take a village to raise a moa bird. It would explain why his best friend is a wooly mammoth, too.
** One problem: The moa was a dark brown color, unlike the bright yellow Big Bird. And now for my theory...
*** I'm sure feather-color mutations cropped up on occasion. Or it could just be the fact that he's a juvenile.
** I'd be more worried about the fact that he has arms, rather than lacking forelimbs altogether.
** His feathered neck and head support this idea. Big Bird has also called himself a canary on a few occasions, he may be a hybrid created by combining canary and Moa DNA in a genetic experiment at Muppet Labs, explaining his color and forelimbs.

[[WMG: Big Bird is a juvenile Roc.]]
* This mythological bird lived in the Middle East, ate elephants like hawks eat mice and is sometimes said to have [[ToothyBird a beak full of knife-like teeth]]. When Big Bird grows up, he will develop the ability of flight and destroy the street and its inhabitants, starting with his ''old friend'' Snuffleupagus.
** So... Big Bird is of Middle Eastern descent? Perfect for an episode or two about racial sensitivity towards Arabs, Iranians, etc!
** Sorry, but here's a new theory for y'all...

[[WMG: Big Bird is some sort of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therizinosaur therizinosaur]].]]
* Think about it: they're both feathered, stand taller than an adult human, have tubby bellies and don't eat meat. Only problem is that Big Bird is lacking large claws, but that can be easily [[HandWave handwaved]] by saying he's not full grown yet.
** Didn't they have teeth?
** Yes, but they were small and in life they were probably hidden anyway.

[[WMG: Big Bird is a prehistoric [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird Elephant bird]].]]

[[WMG: Animal from Series/TheMuppetShow and Cookie Monster are related.]]
* It actually makes more sense the more you think about it. They're both {{Extreme Omnivore}}s and Cookie Monster is technically younger than Animal.
** If they are, they're not aware of it. They appear together in ''Film/AMuppetFamilyChristmas'' and give no notion that they've met before -- though Animal does, upon seeing Cookie Monster scarf down a whole plate of cookies, sum him up as "my kinda fella."


[[WMG: Sesame Street is a government-run experimental communist orphanage.]]
* Consider: There are very few adult humans on the street. There are always a large rotating group of children around. Conversations automatically lean towards education, and this is not considered normal by others: see Film/AMuppetFamilyChristmas. Anyone can simply walk into Mr. Hooper's Store and ask for anything they need. Everyone gets their toasters repaired - clearly an effort to meet their budget. The primary living quarters that we see is owned by two children (Bert and Ernie). Most of the monsters in the show are also very young, and follow the instructions of the adults on the street. All of which indicates that it's a new kind of orphanage-one where everyone pitches in and helps everyone else, and kindness trumps all.

[[WMG:Series/SesameStreet is a PocketDimension, close to our plane of reality.]]
Think about this for a moment. Sesame Street is a small NY street, in New York, where strange beings exist, along with Fairies, Vampires, and a baby T-Rex-sized bird, along with humans and modern-day items. People outside Sesame Street, always ask "How to get to Sesame Street?", because it isn't seen anywhere in New York. Only a few normal humans may have stumbled onto the street and meet these monsters, humanoid beings, etc. etc., and "visited" a few times in the past.
* Also, I think that the street moves around (mainly New York area), and seems to reflect our world.
* It also explains why some of the strange events that happened on Sesame Street and not anywhere else in New York.
** EX:There was a storm that blew through a country, devistating everyone's home. Sesame Street showed this, by showing the aftermath of a hurricane that blew through the street, destroying Big Bird's nest. How can a storm blow through Sesame Street, but not through all of New York?
** I believe that it's magically protected and thus [[Literature/HarryPotter Unplottable]].

[[WMG:There is trouble on Planet TR.]]
Obviously, the only grain that will grow is [=TRiticale=]. This [=TRoper's=] guess is that some [=TRekkies=] come by sooner or later, and have [[Franchise/StarTrek TRibbles]] with them.

[[WMG: The Count is purple because he doesn't drink blood]]
If he did, he'd look much more human, but he's too nice and wants to set a good example for human children, so he's subsisting on tomato juice, which is enough to live on, but not enough to be genuinely healthy.

[[WMG: Maria and Luis didn't realize how good they really had it]]
Since the TurnOfTheMillennium, Maria and Luis have heard the stigma that "mom and pop shops" were passe, and being phased out... that, combined with growing sick of only fixing toasters, they decided to catch up with the times, close down the Fix-It Shop, and open up the Mail-It Shop. But what was the problem? Well, since all of Sesame Street seems to be technologically behind, they weren't aware that the general public doesn't use postal services as much as they used to, what with email, instant messaging, texting, etc. Because of this, they saw they were actually losing money running the Mail-It Shop, and realizing that they had a pretty good thing with the Fix-It Shop, and actually missed fixing toasters, they closed the Mail-Ip Shop, and reopened the Fix-It Shop. Unfortunately by then, the damage had been done: with the Fix-It Shop gone, customers in need of repairs had to find other places, and as such, Maria and Luis lost a lot of their clientele, which meant they lost even more money; so they sold their unit to Leela so she could open up her laundromat, and Maria and Luis decided to just go ahead and retire, since they're probably that age already anyway.

[[WMG: Sesame Street has an alphabet factory nearby]]
Up until 1998, we had a partial view of a building with the alphabet painted on its exterior behind the garage in the arbor; this is clearly the exterior of an alphabet factory, where the manufacture letters (and numbers) for people... why else would the residents of Sesame Street seem to own an endless supply of random letters and numbers, such as Big Bird accidentally stepping on his J when stepping into his nest (and Gordon adding, "I've stepped on ''my'' J many times.")

[[WMG: Cookie Monster eats the librarian!]]
Recently, Oola and other websites have recounted "customers-from-hell" type tales from businessmen, restaurant owners and employees, etc. ... often to underscore the morals that "you can't please everyone all of the time" and "the customer is not always right." This retake on the classic mid-1970s Cookie Monster skit where he visits a library and repeatedly asks for a box of cookies, despite (in the end, very angrily) being told multiple times that "We don't have cookies! Only books." After the fourth time, Cookie says, "Me want ... a box of cookies!" The librarian, who normally at this point would have had Cookie thrown out of the library and told not to return, gives up in frustration, reaches under his desk ... and throws a box of Girl Scout-type box of cookies at him, screaming at him, "'''''HERE'S YOUR STUPID BOX OF COOKIES!!!!'''''" while appearing to struggle with what appears to be his blood pressure that has skyrocketed to dangerous levels. Cookie has a weird look on his face, prompting the librarian (who is still trying to calm down) to shout, "'''''WHAT IS IT NOW????'''''" Cookie grabs the librarian '''''and proceeds to eat him alive and whole!!!!''''' Cookie, after he is finished, does a beat and says, "Me no think ... customer service what it used to be!" and then walks out calmly, as though nothing was wrong and what he did was normal.
** Alternate: After the final "WE DON'T HAVE COOKIES!!! JUST BOOKS!!!!" exchange between Cookie and the librarian, the video suddenly stops and a kid says, "Hey! Libraries have more than just books!" ... followed by new footage of kids doing crafts and doing other activities including story time (which does involve books), working on computers, checking through the stacks of videos/compact discs/other materials, reading the newspaper, studying and much more ... many more services that modern libraries provide ... even a live-human librarian commenting about what is going on. And yes, we do even see the librarian serving a plate of cookies and refreshments to kids after craft time is over, and the kids laughing and enjoying fellowship while having their snack.

[[WMG: Grover intentionally gives Mr. Johnson poor service]]
Remember how the early Waiter Grover sketches were Grover trying to please Mr. Johnson, the difficult customer? And then they turned into Mr. Johnson getting exasperated at Grover's incompetence? I figure that Grover got fed up with having to deal "that weirdo" at Charlie's and just gave up and served him poorly on purpose to get him to stop coming in. Unfortunately, not only does he still come in, but he also unintentionally visited Grover at his other jobs, prompting Grover to continue the bad service tradition.

[[WMG: Sesame Street is a sort of “Never Land”.]]

For Muppets at least. While the humans age, the Muppets don’t. Or they age very slowly. Think about it. Big Bird has been six years old for over 40 years and other Muppet characters like Elmo have also stayed the same age while the human characters grew older.

[[WMG: One day, the show will address whatever happened to Rosita's wings]]
For the first 13 years of the character (1991-2004), the Rosita Muppet had a pair of wings under her arms. They disappeared in 2004, and there's never been any in-show explanation. By bringing up the wings again in 2021, there's a lot of stuff the show can explore there in a child-friendly way:
* Rosita coping with her winglessness as a Muppet metaphor for learning to live with a physical disability.
* Rosita's seldom-seen father is a wheelchair user, so Rosita's "disability" is something the two of them have in common. That could be explored to talk about parent-child relationships.
* A more standard "You Are Special Just The Way You Are" episode where she misses her wings but learns that she can still do plenty of good things with both feet on the ground.
* Maybe they decide to redesign the Muppet to bring back her wings. Aside from "up and down" / "sky and ground" vocabulary, they could teach kids about the dangers of getting too competitive with Abby, the show's other resident flyer.
* Rosita getting her wings back as a stand-in for surgery or other scary-seeming trips to the doctor.
* [[https://www.facebook.com/muppetwiki/photos/a.332019350172893.72500.113171325391031/1691064547601693/?type=3 According to her original designer]], he chose to give Rosita wings as a reflection of her heritage as a Latina cave-monster. The show can talk about being an immigrant kid and feeling different from your extended family using the wings in place of more abstract cultural concepts.

** In an interview, Rosita revealed that she lost her wings when she flew from her cave during a storm.
** Although she recently got them back. The question is how she grew them back in-universe. Maybe her species can regrow wings after losing them (similar to how some real life animals are able to regrow severed body parts). But then that just begs the question of why they took so long to grow back (she was wingless for at least 15 years).

[[WMG:The Martin family tree.]]
So, on "Elmo's World", it's usually the same redheaded, bespectacled woman who appears on TV, whose name is revealed to be "Doc/Bones" Martin. Occasionally, though, it's a brunette named ''Bubbles'' Martin, and sometimes it's an elderly lady. There have also occasionally been women who look like Doc but without the glasses, including Handy Mandy and Marla Perkins. Here's one possible answer:

* The old lady (who calls herself the Dog Lady, Pet Lady, and Open and Closed Lady) is an AnimalLover who was originally ginger before she went grey. She married an unseen, dark-haired man named Mr. Martin and had four daughters:
* The eldest daughter inherited her mother's red, curly hair and bad eyesight (necessitating glasses). This is the one who got nicknamed Doc and Bones and went on to become a JackOfAllTrades.
* Then, came the twins, [[ThemeTwinNaming Marla and Mandy]], who both inherited their mother's red hair, but had better eyesight. Marla became a biologist and got married, changing her name to Perkins, while Mandy became a construction worker. Mandy is very energetic and sociable, hence her appearances as the Friend Lady and Jumping Lady. She also got the nickname "Handy Mandy" both from her song about hands and her construction worker job.
* The fourth daughter is Bubbles, who inherited her mother's love for animals and her father's dark hair. She's mainly just a lecturer, though shows a slight interest in biology like two of her sisters. Bubbles also got married, though unlike her sister Marla, she kept her name. She and her unseen husband have baby octuplets, who were shown in the "That's Being a Cat" sog.

[[WMG: This and other [=PBS=] Kids shows are in the same SharedUniverse as ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'' and half the other Sony-created cartoons]]
Right before Big Bird's Fairy Godperson left in Episode 4119 (2006), he gets a call on his wand phone, telling us that there are "two kids who wish and wish with all their heart, to fly with dragons, in a land apart. Can you imagine?" This implies the Dragon Scale wasn't working and Max and Emmy needed outside assistance in teleporting to Dragon Land.

As a result, this is where the cartoon-verse [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries Men in Black]] come in. Along with keeping tabs on the various crazy crap in [=PBS=] Kids' shows, the [=MIB=] keep tabs on the Muppets and monsters on Sesame Street. However, they don't really have much to do concerning it, primarily because they aren't exactly sure how does one actually get to Sesame Street - through a Diagon Alley-esque entrance, through a dimensional portal, through a secret entrance hidden in a New York City alleyway, [[Series/TheMuppetShow through a cave accessed by saying "Open Sesame"]] - plus there aren't exactly much in the way of threats from or to Sesame Street, so they keep it secret as they do everything else. They have, however, neuralized some of the celebrities who came to Sesame Street (e.g. Phil Donahue in Episode 2096, Al Roker in the 2001 Hurricane episodes) save Mister Rogers in Episode 1575 (who the [=MIB=] already keep a tab on).

[[WMG:Do De Rubber Duck was Ernie's imagination]]

The oddity of so many of Ernie's friends being in the bath tub with him (including characters who are clearly adult) for the song "Do De Rubber Duck" makes sense if Ernie is simply imagining his friends (including some television personalities like Kermit the Frog and Guy Smiley) in the tub dancing with him, which would also explain why Oscar the Grouch is in a bath tub (which would also explain why he's not orange again, if the explanation of Oscar being green is simply because he doesn't take baths is canon), and would explain why they all appeared to go down into the bath tub at the end of the song. It's simply Ernie coming back to reality after imagining his friends singing and doing the dance.

[[WMG: The [[MemeticMutation Memetic popularity]] of Rocco and Elmo's frustration will be acknowledged in a future ep]]
Elmo will reach a RageBreakingPoint and let out all his frustrations at Zoe at how annoying he finds Rocco and her attempts to make people think he' living and a friend. This will lead to an adult to talk with Zoe about the importance of respecting others' feelings when they're annoyed. Zoe and Elmo will reconcile afterwards.

[[WMG: Lefty knows Alex's Dad.]]

After Alex's dad went to jail, Lefty decided to keep an eye on his family until he got out. He makes sure they're safe and have what they need to live. Lefty tries to do all of this in secret so Alex doesn't idolize criminals like him and stays out of trouble when he grows up. Yeah, the creepy guy who tried to sell Ernie an 8 has a heart.

[[WMG: Elmo's dad is a paramedic.]]

Elmo's father has been deployed, but also laid off. You don't get "laid off" from the military. Louie went overseas as a combat medic. Technically, they're not allowed to take part in combat and firing on one is a severe war crime. However, they are given a sidearm "just in case". Louie counts his lucky stars that he never had to use his sidearm while "helping people". After his overseas duty was over, Louie got a job with a hospital. Unfortunately, it had a funding problem during the recession and had to lay some people off.

[[WMG: "Wavin' Goodbye to You With My Heart" is about a pet that died.]]

[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtquOz6cMLE&ab_channel=LittleJerryFan92 This song]] is sung by the Country Western singer Muppet Polly Darton to her dog, which responds by yapping affectionately, if not sadly. The song opens with the stanza "Oh, I'm so sorry to see that you're leaving/It's so sad that you and I have got to part/And now, even though I'm deeply grieving/I'm waving goodbye to you with my heart". Given that she is singing this rather strong statement to a dog who is clearly a pet and not a talking anthropomorphic dog, it begs the question of what kind of journey the dog is supposed to be going on, and why it would be separated from its human. The line "It's so sad when a dear doggy goes" not only makes it clear that the song is about parting with a dog, if not this exact dog, but sounds a great deal like a euphemism for "it's so sad when a dear doggy dies". Not only, therefore, is there a distinct possibility that the song was inspired by someone losing a pet in RealLife, but this raises UnfortunateImplications as to the relevance of the song in-universe. Did Polly Darton learn that the dog we see in the video is suffering from a terminal illness? Or did she write the song after she, or someone close to her, lost another dog?

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