The new What Made You Smile Today thread

fuzzygobo

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Someone posted on YouTube the Sesame clip of Yellow Submarine with the intro in English. The song has been posted before, but this is the first time uncut.

The last time I saw this, I wasn’t even two years old yet. But I do distinctly remember Beautiful Day peeking through the porthole.

50 years ago, the Beatles were the biggest band on earth. And their Yellow Submarine movie was huge at the box office.
I’’m fortunate enough to be alive when they were around.
 

LittleJerry92

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I first saw the clip in German when I was in middle school at age 14 during YouTube’s baby days. I was surprised to see they did a cover of such a great Beatles song! I heard the full song in itself in 2010, now I’m happy to see the clip is finally complete with the intro!
 

fuzzygobo

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Found an old Franklin book. They were nice, and 20 years or so ago, I was catching a few episodes.

Two curious things about Franklin. The opening of every episode,

“Franklin can count by two’s and tie his shoes”.
But Franklin never wore shoes. Hockey skates, yes, but the rest of the time he was barefoot.

And Franklin was the only one with a proper name. The rest of his friends were Bear, Beaver, Fox, Snail, etc. But still it was a good series for kids to be exposed to.
 

LittleJerry92

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That was one of my favorite shows to watch in the Nick Jr days, and I also loved the books just as much.

The theme song is quite catchy too.
 

D'Snowth

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And Franklin was the only one with a proper name. The rest of his friends were Bear, Beaver, Fox, Snail, etc.
THANK YOU!!

This was something my classmates and I were discussing way back in the day . . . how is it Franklin is the only character with a proper name, but none of the other characters were? What sense did that make?

And another thing that always bothered me . . . why did Bear suddenly start wearing a blue vest? Was it so people would stop mistaking him for Little Bear or something?

But @fuzzygobo, you'll appreaciate this: did you know Franklin was inspired by M*A*S*H of all things? As it turns out, the original author of the books was watching M*A*S*H while nursing her baby one evening, and Hawkeye was talking about his claustrophobia, saying, "Can you imagine me as a turtle? Afraid to go into my shell? All of the other turtles laughing at me in my underwear?" That's what inspired the first book the series, in which Franklin is afraid to go into his shell because he's afraid of small dark places. The character was even named after Hawkeye: Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Franklin's name is actually Benjamin in some parts of the world).
 

fuzzygobo

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How about that.
I stumbled on to Franklin around 2000. By that time I had long outgrown Sesame Street, and I had no reason to be watching PBS Kids.

I paid a passing glance to Arthur, Dragon Tales, Caillou, etc. But it was obvious these shows were for somebody else’s generation, not mine. But Franklin was different. An adult like me could sit through a whole episode without getting nauseous, and that’s rare for a kid’s show. In the future most of you will find that out too.

I’m not sure how Bear got the blue vest, or why he even needed it.
There were a few moments that did stand out.
Franklin gets really sad when his friend Otter moves away, and when Bear gets a new baby sister.
I guess Franklin stuck with me because it was on when I got married. And even though Sesame was still on after only thirty years (THIRTY???!!!) Franklin seemed like a bright spot on the horizon.
 

D'Snowth

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One completely random day of long-sleeved weather in the middle of May. This is only the third time i can remember something like this ever happening (in my life, that is).
 
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