Number of the Day Question

[Soul H]

Hey guys. I was wondering, were there ever episodes when the number of the day was higher than 20? I keep having this stinging memory that there was a time when the number of the day was 22.

Can anybody help me?

 

[mikebennidict]

there was a skit called Numberella where Gordon read a story where this girl that went by that name wanted to go to the ball and every number from 1-20 was taken so she had no chance to go untill the number fairy I guess played by The Count gave her the number 21 and of course a whole new dress like in the Cinderella story. so off she went and as she walks in everyones notices her and the number she has on. They didn't know what the number was and she told the the number 21. Can't remember the Prince's name was. I also know in the 90s they would count up to 40 but I don't think at any other time they generally featured numbers past 20 individually.

 

[ISNorden]

22 was never a number of the day, but two episodes from the late 90s had the number 21 as a sponsor. One included the Numberella sketch that Mike mentioned; the other used a sketch with Ernie and a 21 (or was that a 12? ) whose digits kept switching places. Ernie finally recites a poem about 12 and 21, calming the numerals down. Neither episode had other clips about a specific number (which is a shame IMO). Still, I think the episode with the "12 and 21" incident should have allowed both numbers as sponsors...

 

[D'Snowth]

Wasn't it their original intention to onlyt teach kids how to count up to 20?

 

[Xerus]

This year, they had a new Count skit. The Count was watching a show on TV called 24. It showed an anything Muppet hanging from a cliff and The Count was at the edge of his seat as they counted to 24. Then it turned out the ground was just inches away from the guy so he was able to jump down easily and walk away.

 

[ISNorden]

D'Snowth: Originally, the show's writers taught numbers only as high as ten; they didn't raise the limit to 20 until a few seasons later. Even then, only numbers in the 2-12 range could be numbers of the day. (Higher and lower numbers gained that status in the early 80s; the "long count" limit rose from 20 to 40 during those same years.) It's a shame that Sesame Street has been stripped down for a pre-K audience, since some of the 1980s number sketches were very well done: a typical child in first or second grade would easily understand the "40 Blocks to School" song, emotionally as well as mathematically.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Yeah. I remember they counted up to 40 in the 80s, but I don't think they ever had a number of the day above 20. Even if they did have a sketch with a higher number like in Numberella or 24, they still used a different number. I could be wrong on this, but I think that's the case.

 

[ISNorden]

Actually, Numberella's sketch was the ONLY specific-number clip in that episode; the number of the day was indeed 21, for the first time in Sesame Street history. Only one other episode has declared 21 the number of the day, so you're almost right. The situation now reminds me of the show's early years, though: a few scattered episodes in the 70s included sketches about the number 1, but the sponsor number that day was usually 2. Even as a kindergartner, I was confused as all get-out whenever that happened...