Announcer

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know from www.HowStuffWorks.com.

Why are there so many songs about rainbows, and what’s on the other side?

Josh Clark

Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I’m Josh Clark. Hey, Chuck Bryant!

Chuck Bryant

Hey, Josh Clark.

Josh Clark

It’s a beautiful day here at How Stuff Works, isn’t it?

Chuck Bryant

It is.

Josh Clark

I have a question for you, Chuck. Have you ever been half asleep and heard voices, Chuck?

Chuck Bryant

Josh, I’ve heard them call my name.

Josh Clark

Is that a sweet sound that calls young sailors?

Chuck Bryant

I can’t remember the next line.

Josh Clark

It might be one and the same – I think it is one and the same, yes.

Chuck Bryant

Clearly, we are speaking of none other than the top 25 hit Academy Award nominated song, rainbow connection.

Josh Clark

Yeah. As performed by a certain philosophizing frog in a swamp in the beginning of “The Muppet Movie.” We’re going to be talking about how the Muppets work today.

Chuck Bryant

Josh is like rocking in his chair right now. He’s so excited.

Josh Clark

I love the Muppets. Who doesn’t love the Muppets?

Chuck Bryant

You show me somebody who doesn’t love the Muppets, and they’ve got a butt kicking coming to them via me.

Josh Clark

Yeah. Chuck’s the Muppet enforcer.

Chuck Bryant

I am.

Josh Clark

The Muppet love enforcer.

Chuck Bryant

Yes.

Josh Clark

I think we should probably give a disclaimer, Chuck. If anybody is really attached to illusion and doesn’t really want to know the nitty-gritty details of how Muppets are made and moved about, they should probably not listen to this one.

Chuck Bryant

Right. People that don’t even want to acknowledge that they are puppets.

Josh Clark

Yeah. The lovers, the dreamers!

Chuck Bryant

And me. That’s awesome.

Josh Clark

Chuck, let’s start at the beginning. Let’s start in 1955.

Chuck Bryant

Got to start with Jim Henson.

Josh Clark

Well, yeah. There are
no Muppets without Jim Henson. It even says it right there in the article, “How Muppets Work,” that you can find at www.HowStuffWorks.com, right?

Chuck Bryant

Yep.

Josh Clark

Washington D.C. Has a local TV station, and in, I think, the winter of 1955, a young college freshman, Jim Henson -

Chuck Bryant

1955, dude. People probably had no idea this went back that far.

Josh Clark

This guy was starting something huge at this time. It’s puppets. Puppets were relegated to children’s birthday parties and stuff like that. This guy is bringing them onto TV.

Chuck Bryant

Exactly. Huge!

Josh Clark

And what was kind of surprising is that this show, “Sam and Friends -”

Chuck Bryant

That was his first show.

Josh Clark

Um hm, the one on the local Washington D.C. television station – was for adults.