If I’d Grown Up In Holland…

…I might have watched Sesamstraat as a child.

Like the American version, Sesame Street, Sesamstraat features Kermit, Grover, Bert & Ernie, Elmo, Zoe (the little orange Elmo-esque monster), Oscar, and “Koekiemonster.” However… they also have a purple Big Bird character named Pino, a pig named Purk, a Rowlf-ish dog named Tommie, and a rodent named Ieniemienie (or Ienie for short).

I translated part of the Dutch FAQ with Babelfish (because the Google translator doesn’t include Dutch to English). With minor editing for grammar (but not enough to destroy the charm of automated translation), this is the result:

Q: Why is Pino yellow in America?

A: That is not Pino, but his cousin Jan (in American: Big Bird). Sesamstraat is transmitted in about 160 countries around the entire world. As lot of countries make their own version of ‘Sesame Street’. Tommie, Ieniemienie, Pino, Mr Aart and only plays all other Dutch actors in the Dutch version. In each country there other animals that live in Sesamstraat. Because Pino is also a large bird he is frequently wrongfully confused with his American cousin.

The purple Big Bird just warped my little mind when I first saw it, though.