For many Americans, Sesame Street is kind of like the Big Dipper or Mondays — it’s just there. But while it’s been around for quite awhile, that doesn’t mean its not worth thinking about. With the show turning 50 this year, here are some interesting facts about everyone’s favorite Muppet program:

  • It was a true trendsetter
    • In 2019, people think that kids TV programs are supposed to teach something, i.e. they should be more than pure entertainment. But that’s really a post- Sesame Street conception. When the show was first made in the 1960s, it was created with the express purpose of teaching pre-school age children — a fairly novel concept. But it worked so well that it reshaped the way we think about children and TV.
  • There is, in fact, a Sesame Street
    • When Sesame Street was founded in 1969, the thoroughfare by that name was fictional. But a few months ago, New York City dubbed the intersection of 63rd Street and Broadway as “Sesame Street.” Some self-fulfilling prophecy!
  • It really is educational
    • Melissa Karney, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, wanted to see the educational value of Sesame Street and analyzed students in areas of the country that had strong broadcast signals of the show vs. those with weaker signals. Her findings? Children who could watch Sesame Street were 14% less likely to fall behind in elementary school (although her findings show this was a short-term benefit as opposed to a long-term one).
  • Filming and production are sloooooow
    • How slow? Producing 10 minutes of the show takes an entire workday! Between cameras, puppeteers and actors, there are a lot of moving parts, so it takes quite a long time to put a show together.

[H/T: Mental Floss, Freakonomics]