Today, the indomitable force that is kottke.org has confirmed, CONFIRMED, my long-held belief that Mr Snuffleupagus was Big Bird’s imaginary friend.
OH how Chef laughed at me the first time we spoke of it. Laughed and laughed. No no no he’d say, he’d just walk away before the adults came along. He was just really really shy he’d say.
NO NO NO I’d retort. He was IMAGINARY.
NINETEEN LONG YEARS this debate has raged, RAGED in this house, raised at moments of intense domestic disharmony as the finest example of how I was just so misunderstood, unsupported, A.L.O.N.E.
How Chef chortled at my horror on discovering Sesame Street when Oscar was little and seeing that everyone could see Mr Snuffleupagus. See he sniggered. OH THE HUMANITY.
And today, today my friends the sun has shined. SHINED ON WHAT IS RIGHT.
Four things about Snuffleupagus
Four things about Mr. Snuffleupagus
4. Snuffy’s reveal came about because of some high-profile sexual abuse cases:
In an interview on a Canadian telethon that was hosted by Bob McGrath, Snuffy’s performer, Martin P. Robinson, revealed that Snuffy was finally introduced to the main human cast mainly due to a string of high profile and sometimes graphic stories of pedophilia and sexual abuse of children that had been aired on shows such as 60 Minutes and 20/20. The writers felt that by having the adults refuse to believe Big Bird despite the fact that he was telling the truth, they were scaring children into thinking that their parents would not believe them if they had been sexually abused and that they would just be better off remaining silent.
Oh Jason Kottke. I only know you through the love Heather Armstrong regularly displays for you, but today, today I could just kiss you.