The Twiddlebugs on Elmo's World.
PERFORMER	various
DEBUT	1971

Twiddlebugs are a species of colorful insects who live in Ernie's window box. While the species was established in Season 2 in a segment starring Sherlock Hemlock, the main Twiddlebug family was introduced in Season 5.^[1]

The Twiddlebugs seen most frequently on Sesame Street are a family of four. These Twiddlebugs often find themselves facing difficult challenges, such as taking their car to the zoo or hanging a postage stamp on the wall. Presented with such daunting situations, it would be an easy thing for them to simply give up, and indeed they express despair when their initial attempts at solving these problems meet with agonizing failure. However, the Twiddlebugs persevere in the face of adversity, and through collective brainstorming and cooperation, they always manage to overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable tribulations, such as figuring out how to exit a roller rink. These moments of triumph are cause for celebration for the Twiddlebugs, who remain blissfully unaware that their ultimate solution is rarely the most logical.

A secret of Twiddlebug reproduction is revealed in the Sesame song "Let's Lay an Egg." "Snails do it, slugs do it," two gastropods sing. "Even tiny Twiddlebugs do it!" the Twiddlebug family (only without Timmy) chirps. "Let's do it! Let's lay an egg!"

Characters

The main Twiddlebug family consists of:

• Thomas Twiddlebug (Papa Twiddlebug)
• Tessie Twiddlebug (Mama Twiddlebug)
• Timmy Twiddlebug (son)
• Tina Twiddlebug (daughter)

Other Twiddlebugs have appeared in books, including Mayor Thaddeus Twiddlebug. The Twiddlebug species is seen in great numbers and a wider variety of colors, and different aspects of Twiddlebug life and culture are examined therein. Other Twiddlebug homes and communities exist in other window boxes on Sesame Street. Twiddlebug Town is located in Elmo's window box.

Performing the Twiddlebugs

The high-pitched effect of the Twiddlebugs' voices was accomplished by recording the performers at slow speed, then playing the vocal tracks back at normal speed. The characters' very deliberate enunciation is a result of the performers' attempts to keep the dialogue comprehensible after it was sped up.

In addition to being Muppets, the Twiddlebugs also appeared in computer-generated form in Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic. Additionally, new computer-generated Twiddlebug sketches premiered on Sesame Street starting in season 37. The animation studio Magnetic Dreams produced the segments, with all voices by Rickey Boyd. The CGI versions of the Twiddlebugs also made a cameo in an advertisement for Sesamestreet.org.

Sketches

Muppet Sketches

Animated Sketches

Book appearances

Books that focus on the Twiddlebugs include:

• Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery (1972)
• Twiddlebugs at Work (1980)
• "Betty Lou's Twiddlebug Story" (1982)
• The Twiddlebugs' Dream House (1983)
• The Adventures of Ernie & Bert in Twiddlebug Land (1984)
• Who's Hiding? (1986)
• "Tina Twiddlebug's Big Adventure" (1989)
• Twiddlebug Town (1989)
• Ernie and the Twiddlebug Town Fair (1990)

Other book appearances

• More Sesame Street Finger Puppets (1972)
• The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)
• Count with the Count (1975)
• See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Smell No Evil (1975)
• Bert's Big Band Paint-with-Water Book (1976)
• The Count's Coloring Book (1976)
• The Count's Number Parade (1977)
• The Sesame Street Mystery Coloring Book (1977)
• Who's Who on Sesame Street (1977, 1982, 1989, 1994, and 1999 editions)
• Big Bird's Look and Listen Book (1978)
• The Amazing Mumford Presents the Magic Weather Show (1981)
• Put & Play Magic Show (1981)
• Put & Play Grover's Wishes (1981)
• Sesame Seasons (1981)
• Which One Doesn't Belong? (1981)
• How to Play Nearly Everything (1982)
• Trace & Color: Alphabet (1984)
• Big Bird's Book of Rhymes (1985)
• Ernie's Finish the Picture (1985)
• A Bird's Best Friend (1986)
• A My Name Is Annabel (1986)
• ABC (1986)
• Find the Shapes (1986)
• Sesame Street ABC (1986)
• Through the Year (1986)
• Colors (1987)
• A Rainy Day on Sesame Street (1987)
• The Runaway Soup and Other Stories (1987)
• A Day in the Country (1988)
• Colors (1989)
• A Day at the Beach (1989)
• Find the Shapes (1989)
• Finish the Pattern (1989)
• Let's Rhyme! (1989)
• Opposites (1989)
• Things That Go (1989)
• Which Ones Are the Same? (1989)
• Museum of Monster Art (1990)
• 1-2-3 (1991)
• 123: A Counting Book from 1 to 100 (1991)
• Sleep Tight! (1991)
• It's Christmas! (1992)
• A New Way to Get to Sesame Street (1992)
• The Sesame Street Book of Poetry (1992)
• Elmo's Little Playhouse (1993)
• Sesame Street's Mother Goose Rhymes (1993)
• Around the Corner on Sesame Street (1994)
• Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book (1994)
• Knock, Knock! Who's There? (1994)
• Me Cookie! (1994)
• Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book (1996)
• B is for Books! (1996)
• Christmas Songs (1997)
• Elmo Loves You (1997)
• Elmo's Valentine (1997)
• The Poky Little Puppy Comes to Sesame Street (1997)
• Pumpkin Patch Party (1997)
• Elmo's Tricky Tongue Twisters (1998)
• It's Not Easy Being Big! (1998)
• Where Is Elmo's Blanket? (1999)
• Sounds of Sesame Street (2000)
• 123 Sesame Street (2001)
• Shake a Leg! (2001 edition)
• Clap Your Hands! (2002)
• The City Sings a Song! (2005)
• Little Red Wagon (2006)
• Please and Thank You (2006)
• Sesame Subjects books (2006-2007)
• Sing with Elmo (2006)
• Abby Cadabby's Rhyme Time (2007)
• Elmo's Piano (2007)
• Friendly, Frosty Monsters (2007)
• Lots of Opposites (2007)
• Music Player Storybook (2007)
• My First Trip to the Farm (2007)
• Rosita's Easter on Sesame Street (2007)
• Sesame Street Super Sticker Book (2007)
• What Makes You Giggle? (2007)
• Everybody Dance! (2008)
• Let's Help the Earth (2008)
• Ding Dong, Elmo's Here! (2009)
• Love, Elmo (2009)
• Out & About (2010)
• Potty Time Songs (2010)
• Elmo is Red, Cookie is Blue! (2011)
• Elmo's Merry Christmas (2011)
• Merry Christmas, Elmo! (2011)
• Potty Time for Monsters (2011)
• A Sesame Street Christmas Story (2011)
• Elmo's Christmas Hugs (2012)
• Get Moving with Elmo! (2012)
• Over on Sesame Street (2012)
• Sing Along with Elmo (2012)
• Elmo's Busy Body (2013)
• All Tucked In on Sesame Street! (2014)
• Elmo's ABC Lift-the-Flap (2014)
• Where Is Elmo's Friend? (2014)
• Elmo's 123 Lift-the-Flap (2015)
• Just One You! (2015)
• Elmo's Countdown to Christmas (2016)
• Rubber Duckie Bath Time Tunes (2016)
• Elmo's Farm Songs (2017)
• Elmo's Musical School Day (2017)
• Holiday Friends (2017)
• Murray's Music Book (2017)
• Music in Your Neighborhood (2017)
• Rock Monsters (2017)
• Take Me Out to the... (2017)
• Friends to Count On! (2018)
• Kindness Makes the World Go Round (2018)
• The Runaway Egg (2018)
• Washy Wash! (2020)
• Counta Block (2021)
• Let's Celebrate Diversity! (2022)
• All Aboard! The Sesame Street Subway (2023)
• Sesame Street 2024 comic book
  • Issue 4: The Amazing Mumford's Card Trick
• I Love to Watch You Grow! (2024)

Notes

• In the Who's Who on Sesame Street coloring book, the characters are incorrectly listed as Thomas (father), Tina (mother), Teddy (son) and Tessie (daughter).
• The Spanish version of Sesame Street, Barrio Sésamo, translated the names of the characters as Los Nabucodonosorcitos (literally "The Little Nabucodonosors"), after King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, called Nabucodonosor in Spanish.
• The German version of Sesame Street, Sesamstrasse, called them Krabbelkäfer, which basically means "Crawlingbugs" or "Scuttlebugs."
• Most of the time, Twiddlebugs are depicted on TV as miniature creatures, small enough to live in a window box. However, they have occasionally appeared as standard Muppet size:
  • In an early segment, Kermit the Frog counted "happy little Twiddlebugs" at a Twiddlebug Party - most of whom were bigger than Kermit.
  • In the final scene of The Muppet Movie, which featured a crowd shot containing nearly every Muppet then in existence, Thomas and Tessie appear alongside the other Muppets without being shrunk by camera-trickery and enlarged sets.
• In a 2006 Halloween card, Ernie is dressed as a Twiddlebug.

See also

• Twiddlebug Town
• The Twiddlebug Game

Sources

External links

• Tough Pigs Book Club - The Great Twiddlebug Mystery
• YouTube - Fan video of Postage Stamp sketch with audio pitched down to resemble original voice recording.