TED

The Muppets Mayhem

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading."

References

• When '80s Robot drives Kermit the Frog around the world to re-unite his friends in The Muppets, Scooter is yanked from the lobby of the Google offices while on his way to a TED conference.

• In The Muppets Mayhem episode "We Will Rock You," Lips is seen delivering a TED talk on his plan to save the world.

Appearances

Scooter

On February 29, 2012, Scooter appeared at the real TED2012 conference as a speaker.

“On stage at TED2012 — the “Academy Awards for nerds,” as he put it — Scooter laid out his question: “Can Tactile Icons Survive in an Integer-Driven Environment?” In other words, MUPPETS vs. CGI! (Or “Formulas vs. Felt.”) In a breathtaking intellectual throwdown only a 2-foot-high Muppet could deliver, Scooter laid out a series of trenchant arguments that demolished the notion that computer-generated characters have surpassed puppets:

-CG can do 3D? Muppets have always been 3D.

-CG can do motion capture? Hand moves, puppet moves. Motion: captured.

-Artificial intelligence? “In all the years I’ve been with the Muppets, we’ve never done anything intelligent, artificial or otherwise.””

Scooter began his talk as he finished up speaking with Gonzo on the phone, whom he promised — as a life-long Trekkie — that he'd tell J. J. Abrams he'd make a fantastic Klingon. As Scooter ended his time on stage, he revealed to the audience ("don't tell Gonzo") that Abrams had already said he could be a Vulcan (the fictional alien species first portrayed by Leonard Nimoy).

Scooter at TED

Scooter's ID badge

Cookie Monster

Cookie Monster made a live appearance at the 2012 TEDMED conference in Washington, D.C. in April 2012 to learn more about being an ultramarathon runner from champion Scott Jurek, and learned about how eating more veggies and fewer cookies helps.

Scott Jurek and Cookie Monster at TEDMED 2012

Kermit the Frog

Kermit the Frog spoke at TEDxJackson in Mississippi on November 6, 2014. After showing a clip of the Sam and Friends version of "Visual Thinking", Kermit said, "The guy with the glasses, that's actually Ted."

Kermit at TED 2014

Joey Mazzarino

At TEDYouth2015, Joey Mazzarino did a TED Talk about being a Sesame Street puppeteer.

TED Joey Mazzarino Life lessons from a Sesame Street Puppeteer

Michael Davis

Street Gang author Michael Davis delivered the talk "How Sesame Street Has Changed the World" in 2015.

TED Michael Davis How Sesame Street has changed the world

Mentions

• The TED-Ed video "How to Make Your Writing Funnier" by Cheri Steinkellner features Kermit and Piggy animated by Anton Bogaty. (YouTube)

External links

• Official website