This Day In History

10 November: Sesame Street first broadcast!

We all knock kids' programmes. When we’re not secretly enjoying them and giggling at all the dick and fart jokes anyway. Sometimes though, every now and then, a diamond appears in the rough. One that will last longer than anyone could have ever imagined.

The diamond in this case is Sesame Street. Right from the theme tune that everyone knows, to most if not all of us having a favourite character from the instantly recognisable cast of muppets. Most of the Maxim Chaps favour Oscar the Grouch above others!

Sesame Street was the first children's educational television program to base its contents and production values on laboratory and formative research, and the first to include a curriculum "detailed or stated in terms of measurable outcomes".

The subjects tackled by "Sesame Street" have, much like the show, evolved with the times. In 2002, the South African version of the program, "Takalani Sesame," introduced a 5-year-old Muppet character named Kami who is HIV-positive, in order to help children living with the stigma of a disease that has reached epidemic proportions. In 2006, a new Muppet, Abby Cadabby, made her debut and was positioned as the show's first female star character, in an effort to encourage diversity and provide a strong role model for girls.

And to be honest, any program that gets Katy Perry on in a corset to bounce around for a bit is ok by us.