Talking Machine



The Talking Machine first appeared in a 1967 IBM training film starring an early version of Cookie Monster. The machine, an ornate device which had eyes attached to its tape reel, offered a monotone "recorded analytic program read-out," describing its various parts, which in turn were eaten by the monster. The sketch was repeated with the proto-Cookie on The Ed Sullivan Show, and later with Luncheon Counter Monster in Episode 210: George Burns of The Muppet Show. The machine's speech was identical in each incarnation, unusual for a repeated sketch, and ended with the revelation that the machine is a powerful explosive device, causing the monster to combust.