The Martians



The Yip-Yips are interplanetary visitors, presumed to be from the planet Mars, that are terrified by things like clocks, telephones and computers on Sesame Street.

In their skits, these creatures, with squid-like tentacles, large eyes, and antennae, materialize into a room and converse with each other in their native toungue: "Yip-yip-yip-yip... Uh-huh. Uh-huh," done in monotone voices. They often come across common objects and, curious as to their names and functions, the Yip-Yips will consult a book presumably containing information about things on Earth. In one skit, for example, the Yip-Yips call a computer a television and a typewriter before deciding what it actually is.

They are "yip-yipped" by multiple performers including Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Martin P. Robinson, and Kevin Clash.

On Plaza Sésamo, the Yip-Yips say, ''"Yip-yip-yip-yip... Baja. Baja." Baja means "short."

Skits

 * 1971 — Telephone discovery by the Yip-Yips
 * 1972 — Grandfather clock discovery by the Yip-Yips
 * 1975 — Radio discovery by the Yip-Yips
 * 1987 — Computer discovery by the Yip-Yips
 * 1989 — "Get Along", a song with Kermit, a cow, the Yip-Yip aliens, Twiddlebugs, and greasers
 * 1990 — Stars, moon, pigs, earth discovery by the Yip-Yips
 * 1991 — Faucet discovery by the Yip-Yips
 * 1991 — "Family" song with Yip-Yip Aliens
 * 1992 — Wind discovery by the Yip-Yips, from a fan
 * 1996 — "Outerspace Friend", a song by Telly with the Yip-Yips
 * 1998 — Grover picks them up in a limo in Elmopalooza

Merchandising
Around the time of the 35th Anniversary of the program, licensors finally started to notice and recall the characters. In mid-to-late 2003, retail outlet Hot Topic led the way with the first-known official Yip Yip merchandising, a "vintage"-looking t-shirt with two martians (pictured). This was followed in the fall of 2004 with Gund bean-bag toys (pictured).

Light switch plates and other merchandising were released featuring a vintage art style created for many of the characters in conjunction with the anniversary celebration.

The 2006 Sesame Street calendar features the Yip Yips for November, and they make an appearance on the front cover scene.

The most attention given to the characters previous to 2003 was a feature in the 30th anniversary book Sesame Street Unpaved.

Yip Yips in popular culture
"The Yip Yip Club" holds claim to being the Internet's largest club or group, strictly themed to Sesame Street, despite the fact the group primarily deals with only one set of rather minimal characters. Founded 5 July 2001, the club has grown extensively over the past few years. The sudden occurrence of Yip Yip merchandise could be due to the group proving a market for the characters, or it could be strictly coincidental.

On Drawn Together episode "Little Orphan Hero", Foxxy Love, Princess Clara, Spanky Ham and Ling Ling gather around the telephone, going "Yip yip yip yip yip...". In the scene, all the characters actually have strange triangular mouths, like the Yip Yips themselves. The director of that episode, Peter Avanzino, actually used a video file from The Yip Yip Club as reference.