This story has been brought to you by the letter S and the numbers 15 and 40. The S, as anyone who has ever watched television can deduce by now, stands for Sesame Street. The 40 is almost as easy: this year marks the 40th anniversary of sunny days, friendly neighbours and the fuzzy creatures who live on that street where the air is sweet. Big Bird still waddles, Cookie Monster still goes on his sugar binges and Ernie still wakes up Bert at all hours with questions. In a world where cultural touchstones are dropping fast, the endurance of Sesame Street is nothing short of a miracle.

Which brings us to that second number of the day: 15. That, shockingly, is where Nielsen says Sesame Street ranks among the top children’s shows on the air. Some months, it does even worse. Ask a preschooler who her favourite TV character is, and chances are she’ll say Dora, Curious George or, heaven help us, SpongeBob. The Children’s Television Workshop (now called Sesame Workshop) produces only 26 episodes a year now, down from a high of 130. The workshop itself recently announced it was laying off 20 per cent of its staff as the recession continues to take a toll on nonprofit arts organisations. But Sesame Street is no ordinary nonprofit. It is, arguably, the most important children’s programme in the history of television. No show has affected the way we think about education, parenting, childhood development and cultural diversity. You might even say that Sesame Street changed the world, one letter at a time.

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