Slimey the Worm

Slimey the Worm is a light and dark orange striped worm that is the pet of Oscar the Grouch on Jim Henson's Muppet show Sesame Street. Introduced in Season 2 (1970–1971), he is played by Martin P. Robinson and is the smallest of all characters on Sesame Street, being only 7 cm (2¾in). His small size does not affect his attitude of being one not to wince at the sight of extreme activities. As Lou Berger, head writer for Sesame Street, put it, "Slimey shows viewers that even the smallest creature can be the most heroic, and that's an important thing for kids to see." Slimey has done many extreme things, including winning a gold medal in the Worm Olympics, skydived from a plane, been shot out of a cannon whilst kissing girlfriend Glo and become the first worm in space. At first Slimey and his family did not talk, communicating by squeaking and wriggling, Slimey would be held up to Oscar's ear to talk to him. He and his family now, however, have digitally enhanced squeaky voices. Slimey's voice is currently provided by Dick Maitland. His birthday is on September 19th.

In season 29 (1997–1998), Slimey undertook a 6-week journey into space. With his landing on the moon, Sesame Street changed directions from teaching children about basic literacy and numeracy, adding basic science. Slimey was accepted by WASA a parody of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of the lunar program. He then trained rigorously to become an astroworm and was finally chosen as part of the mission's international crew, showing viewers that practice makes perfect. The rocket was launched using Mr. Snuffleupagus' trunk after the smoke from the rocket made him sneeze. The journey went through many troubles including the international crew's crisis but eventually landed on the moon, which was televised live by Kermit the Frog. The rocket ship landed in dramatic fashion, splashing into the water. Fortunately nobody was hurt. Slimey was the first to get out of the rocket ship and therefore became the first worm on the moon. The separation of Slimey and Oscar showed the rarely seen soft side to Oscar. The journey explored concepts such as the distance to the moon and the difference between heavy and light, as well as how scientific exploration occurs, with Slimey and the crew performing experiments and collecting samples. The mission included the song "Slimey to the Moon" sung by the famous Jazz singer Tony Bennett to the tune of "Fly Me to the Moon" by Bart Howard.

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