On November 18, 1985, everyone on Sesame Street finally saw Aloysius Snuffleupagus (AKA Snuff).
For many years, Big Bird was the only character on the show who saw him (he only came along when Big Bird was alone, and always left before anyone else came back). The other characters teased Big Bird when he said he had seen the Snuffleupagus, because they didn't believe there was such an animal. Yet Big Bird and Snuff became best friends.
The adults on the show were sick and tired of Big Bird blaming “Snuffy” for anything that went wrong when they were away. They urged Big Bird to say his good-byes to Snuffy his imaginary friend once and for all, as they were driven to the brink with all the nonsense. Even the Sesame Street newspapers had front page headlines saying that Snuffy had to go. So, Big Bird and Snuffy sadly said their good-byes in Big Bird's nest area. They cried in remorse for their forced separation. Snuffy's tear fell onto Big Bird while they hugged, leading Big Bird to the conclusion that if he could even feel the water from the tears, Snuffy must be real.
For years, Snuffy was considered by the humans on the street to be merely an imaginary friend of Big Bird. But after America became plagued by multiple child rapings in the mid-80s, the Children's Television Workshop's producers of the show feared kids that watch the show might think if nobody believed what Big Bird says happens when he's alone, no one would believe them either. The producers felt that children need to be able to feel adults trusted and believed what children say. Therefore, Snuffy was finally revealed to the rest of the street to be real, causing an array of disbelief and apologies to Big Bird from the others on the street.