What is the first name of Mr. Snuffleupagus on the children’s’ TV program ‘Sesame Street’?

Aloysius Snuffleupagus made his first appearance on ‘Sesame Street’ in 1971. The shaggy, friendly creature was Big Bird’s pal, but at first, only Big Bird could see him. The two became close friends, but Snuffy’s existence stayed ambiguous; he would shuffle off screen just missing everyone else. For 14 years Big Bird insisted Snuffy was real, but no one really believed him.

The gimmick was meant to play on the idea of an imaginary friend, a common feature of childhood. But in the early 1980s, a string of high-profile and sometimes graphic stories of pedophilia and sexual abuse of children aired on ‘60 Minutes’, a US news hour. The media’s focus on child abuse caused ‘Sesame Street’ writers to rethink the character’s appearances and “timely” disappearances.

The writers decided that by having the adults refuse to believe Big Bird, they may have inadvertently caused children to think that their parents would not believe them if they said had been abused; the kids would believe they were better off remaining silent. They wanted to demonstrate that kids should feel safe to share important things with adults, but how? After consulting with child development experts, a story arc was created, culminating in the Nov. 1985 season premiere, where Mr. Snuffleupagus was revealed to be real.

Snuffy (for short - can kids be expected to pronounce Aloysius?) is still shy and retiring, but he has been visible to the entire cast ever since.