Snuffleupagus sightings

During the era in which Mr. Snuffleupagus was thought merely to be Big Bird's imaginary friend, a large portion of his appearances involved a scenario in which he was very nearly seen by the adults, either by design or some plot-driven mishap.

However, from time to time under, and often under unusual circumstances, Snuffy had been seen (or heard) by the adults and other Muppets on Sesame Street. The Kids were usually an exception (starting with the 3rd season finale), most of whom could see Snuffy just as plainly as Big Bird could, including Jay who had aged up on the show and could still see him as late as age 13 in Episode 0415 (but as expected, he was unable to convince any of the adults). In at least three instances, Simon Soundman, Bert, and the Count seem familiar with him, though none have had prior experiences with the Snuffleupagus.

This page catalogues instances when a character encounters the supposedly imaginary Mr. Snuffleupagus prior to Episode 2096 when he was finally introduced to Big Bird's friends properly.

Picture	Description
	Big Bird — Episode 0276 (1971) Big Bird is the first person on Sesame Street to meet Mr. Snuffleupagus, but nobody believes him, setting up 14 years of "near misses."
	Rafael - Episode 0341 (1971) Rafel, after losing his glasses, has a literally nearsighted encounter with Mr. Snuffleupagus. Snuffy finds the spectacles and passes them to Big Bird, who tries to point him out. Rafael only sees vague blurs, and by the time he's put his glasses on, Snuffy has left again.
	Dr. Marzullo — Episode 0343 (1972) Dr. Marzullo gets a full glimpse at Snuffy as he collects a balloon from Hooper's Store. She is unable to explain this encounter and heads home for a long nap.
	Grover — Episode 0393 (1972) Grover, under the impression that the real Snuffy is Big Bird in disguise, has the hiccups scared out of him after a full glimpse at the creature. Later, when Big Bird returns with his own Snuffy disguise, Grover says he didn't need a second costume, the first one was enough.
	Chris - Episode 0401 (1972) Snuffy comes to the street looking for Big Bird and meets Chris. Big Bird is happy to see that somebody else has finally seen Snuffy. When Big Bird asks Chris to tell Molly, she accuses Big Bird of dragging Chris into his imagination.
	The Kids - Episode 0405 (1972) Snuffy arrives at Big Bird's nest, where his appearance nearly startles the kids at first. Big Bird reminds his friend that Snuffy assumed people were imaginary as well, and delightedly introduces him to them. After attempting and failing to invite the grown-ups, it's at this point where Big Bird decides that he doesn't care what the grown-ups think because he and the kids know that Snuffy is real.
	Simon Soundman - Episode 0543 (1973) Simon Soundman cracks an O with a sound effect and Mr. Snuffleupagus responds with, "Oh, dear."
	Bert - Episode 0612 (1974) When Bert suffers from amnesia, he's temporarily cured after being trampled by Snuffy. Realizing for the moment that he has his memory back, he converses with "Snuff" as a familiar friend and discusses the things he remembers from his life. After a second trampling, Bert loses his memory again.
	David and Maria - Episode 0617 (1974) During a party held inside Oscar's trash can, David briefly notices Snuffy and asks, "Hey, who's that big guy with all the brown hair and the big nose?" Maria assumes he's a friend of Oscar's.
	David, Luis, and Maria - Episode 0652 (1974) The three adults bump into Snuffy in the midst of a blackout and actually hear him speak. But, as the whole street is pitch black, they aren't aware of who the stranger is.
	The Count - Episode 0659 (1974) The Count offers to count as Snuffy holds his breath in order to cure his case of hiccups. As expected, the Count counts higher than preferred.
	Grover - Episode 0664 (1974) Safety monitor Grover sees a big mound of brown, shaggy fur blocking the doorway to Big Bird's nest and asks that it be removed, although he's unaware that it's actually Snuffy.
	Bob - Episode 0807 (1975) Bob glimpses Snuffy after awaking from a nap. He describes the sight to David, Maria, and Big Bird, who doesn't believe Bob when he mentions the creature having black and white stripes (the overalls Snuffy was wearing at the time).
	David - Episode 1186 (1978) David hears Big Bird talking to Mr. Snuffleupagus about going to the movies and actually hears Snuffy's reply. He convinces the other adults to come to Big Bird's nest. When they get there, Snuffy is gone, and they assume David was playing them for a sap.
	Susan and Bob - Episode 1297 (1979) While sleeping over with Big Bird, Snuffy sleepwalks down the street while wearing a white sheet over him. He's first spotted by Susan (but with typical Snuffleupagus timing, he's gone before she can get Gordon to look). Bob, in bug-eyed astonishment, sees him too as he walks past. They tell Big Bird about it later, both thinking they've finally seen a Snuffleupagus, and describe him accurately... until they get to his being white all over, which the bird dismisses impatiently.
	Barkley - Episode 1361 (1980) After Snuffy is meant to sleep over at Big Bird's nest, thunder rolls in hinting at the arrival of rain. Since Snuffy can't take shelter under his wings the way Big Bird can, he sleeps in the garage. Also seeking shelter from the rain, Barkley joins him and the pair huddle together for the night.
	Mr. Hooper - Episode 1659 (1982) Another auditory example. Mr. Hooper answers the store telephone and hears Snuffy's mommy. He initially assumes it's Big Bird doing a funny voice, but finds himself wondering when Big Bird enters and takes the call.
	Forgetful Jones — Episode 1662 (1982) Snuffy meets Forgetful on the street, but Forgetful can't recall his name later when trying to describe the encounter to the grown-ups. A similar encounter occurs in Episode 1836.
	Mona Monster - Episode 1681 (1982) Big Bird invites Mona (assuming Snuffy is imaginary as the others say) to Snuffy's birthday party. She's flabbergasted when Snuffy arrives and tells Big Bird, "I don't want you to be disappointed or anything, but your imaginary friend is real!"
	Slimey - Episode 1696 (1982) Snuffy can feel in his big snuffleupagus bones that today is the day he's finally going to meet somebody on Sesame Street. He makes his way down the sidewalk when he comes across Slimey. Not only can the tiny worm see him, he cowers away because they're so different. But after comparing Slimey's body to his snuffle, Snuffy also makes the point that in some ways they're exactly the same.
	Rusty - Episode 1713 (1982) Rusty meets Snuffy when visiting his camp pal, Big Bird.
	Bert — Episode 1779 (1983) After convincing Ernie that there's no such thing as a Snuffleupagus (despite recognizing him previously in Episode 0612), Bert gets a first-hand look at Snuffy through the apartment window. Ernie doesn't believe him and Bert wonders if his own imagination caused this sighting.
	Maria - Episode 1800 (1983) Maria, working in the back of the Fix-It Shop, speaks to Snuffy when he drops off his toaster to be repaired. When Maria sees the giant toaster, she wonders if she indeed spoke to Mr. Snuffleupagus. This first sign of her believing Big Bird would culminate in her choosing to believe Big Bird two seasons later in Episode 1966.
	Dr. Nobel Price - Episode 1800 (1983) While Dr. Nobel Price does not actually see or meet Snuffy, he does find his cousin, Abigail, and believes he's discovered a new species which he calls the Shagaphant. Big Bird informs him what Snuffleupaguses are, and he's disappointed that he didn't discover a new creature, unaware that it's a creature that not many have actually seen by this point.
	Forgetful Jones - Episode 1836 (1983) Forgetful runs into Snuffy again, at a water station for the New York City marathon. By the time Bob arrives, however, Big Bird's witness has forgotten yet again.
	Telly Monster — Episode 1861 (1983) Telly actually sees Snuffy, but thinks he's imagining seeing him.
	Telly Monster and Oscar's pet elephants — Episode 1943 (1984) Telly encounters Snuffy again at Big Bird's nest, while looking for Fluffy (which Snuffy misinterprets as his own name being called). He compares Snuffy to the image of Fluffy, and while Snuffy points out their differences, Telly is still unsure whether or not it's his imagination. Eventually, when Snuffy finds Fluffy, Telly is impressed enough to finally believe he's real.
	Honkers - Episode 1954 (1984) Big Bird invites the Honkers over so they can meet Snuffy. They're amazed by him but readily believe.
	Oscar the Grouch — Episode 2042 (1985) Note: Apart from the aforementioned party in Episode 0617, Snuffy and Oscar had previously shared screen space and spoken to each other in Episode 0585 and Episode 1087.
	Oscar the Grouch — Episode 2058 (1985) At this point in the series, Snuffy has joined the Grouchketeers, thus establishing him as real to Oscar.
	Forgetful Jones — Episode 2085 (1985) Forgetful Jones is wandering about when he spots Mr. Snuffleupagus walking along in the yard, and can't believe his eyes. Bob walks by and asks Forgetful what's so unbelievable, and Forgetful describes Snuffy all the while he stands behind Bob, which Bob doesn't notice. Bob soon recalls that what Forgetful is describing sounds like Big Bird's "imaginary" friend, the Snuffleupagus. They both figure that if that was indeed what it was, Forgetful couldn't have seen it and was imagining it- yet Forgetful asks Bob what was standing behind them while they were talking.

Honorable mentions

Instances where Snuffy is touched, rather than seen or heard, but the individual is unaware.

Picture	Description
	Mr. Hooper - Episode 0628 Mr. Hooper has lost his glasses. Groping around for them, he touches Snuffy's snuffle. He can feel the fur but his blurred vision only shows that it's brown. He assumes it's a scarf Maria lost, to the point of pulling Snuffy along to return it. He hands the snuffle to Big Bird so he can keep looking for his glasses.
	Bob — Episode 1498 (1981) Big Bird brings Mr. Snuffleupagus to his sleepover with a still skeptical Bob. Bob falls asleep cuddling Snuffy's doll. When the latter tries to get it back, an unconscious Bob ends up cuddling a furry snuffle instead.