17 Interesting, Strange, And Downright Silly Facts About The Muppets

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I want to know what happened to that sixty-foot-tall Animal head.

The Muppets are turning 70 this year (HBD), which has me longing for some reruns of The Muppet Show. Because Kermit the Frog is the greatest fictional character ever made, here are some super interesting vintage Muppet facts for you.

Jim Henson smiles and holds Kermit the Frog puppet, both are looking towards the camera. Jim is wearing a headband and has a microphone around his neck

2. In fact, Jim Henson was part of the inaugural cast of SNL.

Woman in a buttoned top interacts with a puppet resembling a striped, dragon-like creature

3. Jim Henson created the first Kermit the Frog out of one of his mother's old coats. The eyes were a ping pong ball.

Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Snerf, and Harry the Hipster

4. Most Muppets are left-handed because the majority of Muppet performers are right-handed and prefer to control the head of the Muppets with their dominant hand.

Jim Henson and Frank Oz operate Kermit the Frog on a set, Kermit visible on a TV monitor

5. Cookie Monster typically eats rice cakes painted to look like cookies, as the oils from actual cookies are damaging to the Muppet.

Cookie Monster, woman in chef's coat holding cookie dough, standing next to a person in a white shirt. Cookie Monster is eating cookies. The scene is in a colorful kitchen

6. Frank Oz, the voice of Sam the American Eagle, is British.

Paramount / Â©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection, The Muppets / Via youtube.com

7. Polly Smith, the costume designer for The Muppet Show, helped invent the sports bra.

A black ribbed sports bra against a plain background

8. To perform "Rainbow Connection" in The Muppet Movie, Jim Henson was submersed in a specially made diving bell to control Kermit the Frog in the swap during the opening number.

Kermit the Frog sits on a log in a leafy forest setting, playing a banjo and singing

9. And the "swamp" Kermit is sitting in is actually the lagoon from Gilligan's Island.

A scene from "Gilligan's Island" shows a group on a tropical beach. Bottom: A scene from "The Muppet Movie" features a swamp with tall trees

10. In The Muppet Movie, since space was so limited in Fozzie's Studebaker, Frank Oz asked Jim Henson's son, Brian, to operate Fozzie's hand since he was a kid and took up less room. Brian says watching the film, he sees his blonde hair poking out of the frame.

Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear from the Muppets sit in an old car, with Kermit in the driver's seat and Fozzie next to him, looking out the window

11. Instead of using a regular-sized Animal on a miniature set for the scene in The Muppet Movie where Animal swallows Dr. Honeydew's Insta-Grow pills, the production team built a 60-foot-tall Animal head.

A giant Animal from the Muppets towers over a building as a group of people, surprised and alarmed, look up at him. A colorful bus is parked in the background

12. The final shot of The Muppet Movie included roughly 250 Muppets, nearly every Muppet the Henson Company had made. To perform them, 137 puppeteers from all over the West Coast of the US came for "pit duty."

A large group of Muppet characters, including Big Bird and Kermit the Frog, are gathered in a studio setting under a colorful rainbow light

13. One of those puppeteers who came to help? Tim Burton.

Tim Burton at a media event, wearing a black blazer over a patterned shirt, standing in front of a backdrop with logos

14. For The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson bought a derelict post office and converted it into a creature shop to make the creatures.

The Muppets group photo featuring Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, and other Muppet characters posing together

15. Ernie's "Rubber Duckie" performed by Jim Henson on Sesame Street peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.

Ernie from Sesame Street holds his rubber ducky, smiling and wearing a striped sweater, with buildings in the background

16. Hoggle, a Muppet in Labyrinth, was in a suitcase that was lost while Jim Henson was traveling back from a movie studio overseas. Years later, it was found in a suitcase at the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro, Alabama. It was restored and is now on display there.

Jennifer Connelly, costumed as Sarah, stands near Hoggle and Ludo in a castle courtyard scene from the film "Labyrinth."

17. Finally, Jim Henson is one of four people to be honored on the Walk of Fame, and ALSO have the character he played be honored on the Walk of Fame.

Jim Henson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame featuring a television symbol

Who's your favorite Muppet? Let us know in the comments below!

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