watching the ball getting ground up disturbed me. i didn't know why it happened & the dark background was creepy-ish with the happy music. the cherry ending made it happier.
I was always disturbed when the ball came busting through the "3" at the beginning, and the black background made the whole video look so creepy to me.
The guy that made this coaster was a genius. I couldn't imagine calibrating the design for the interchange starting at :56.
the grinding of the ball instilled in my lil mind that nothing is permanent, and things you like will be destroyed. im 42, and still feel the effects of this way of thinking in my life today, great job sesame street, hope youre happy!
i was viewing a video of family guy. then theres a comment which includes ELMO's name. THEN SUDDENLY I REMEMBERED THIS!!!! i immediately typed sesame street counting numbers rolling ball, and WOW.....WOW....i'm so amazed how my mind worked....
THIS FUCKIN BRINGS BACK SO MUCH MEMORIES! REMEMBER THE BETAMAX???
i was born in '78 so when i saw this as a kid in the 1980's when was kid. it was repeats i love the end part when the ball turn into powder pretty cool and that looney music there too unfortunlately its the only clip of the number it has"3". good times!
This is considered "rare" because the ending was changed after negative reactions from children who were distressed over the destruction of the ball. The revised ending was "happier" because the ball was changed into cherries toppings for ice cream treats.
This is my first time seeing this one, I never even knew about it. I grew up with the cherries.....which I still never quite understood how a ball can turn into cherries. LoL
this is the version i remember... man this takes me back....i never understood the little girl with the cherries..i thought red balls could turn into cherries..oh kids...
I think it might really have been Tang. I don't think that the ball was ground up for real, though the ball's onscreen "death" is still depressing. BTW this is the normal ending. The revised ending,which I like better, in which the ball becomes 3 "cherries" on ice cream is the rare ending. The one here is from 1971, and I think the revised "ice cream" ending is from 1975.
This is the only ending i remember, actually. I guess it really stuck with me as I remember being totally bummed out. When I was looking for this I asked my younger friend if he remembered the one that ended with the red rubber ball being ground up into powder. Poor ball. *sniff*
I never saw this version until now, and it makes me go O.O. I don't know how I would've reacted as a kid but I probably would've still preferred the ice cream version because...well, it's ice cream.
Not that I can remember as I was about 2 when this was first on, but my dad said that I always got upset when the ball came out as powder at the end. :-P
i think one of my first memories EVER... (I was 3) when the little ball went in the car at 1:14 and took a ride i remember shouting 'there goes!' 'there goes mom!"
Also, this was one of the only Sesame Street inserts made by Frank Oz, (that didn't involve puppets, anyway.) For those who don't know, he was basically Jim Henson's right hand man and puppeteered/voiced many of the characters on Sesame Street and the Muppets, like Bert, Fozzie, etc.
I came to YouTube to try and find this clip after reading about it in the Sesame Street 40th anniversary book, as I vaguely remembered seeing it.
According to the book, the reason they changed the ending was because upon its original airing it upset kids a great deal. One would imagine that the minds of preschoolers saw the ball as the "main character" of the piece, so it seemed to them like it was being killed.
I always wondered why the ball was ground up at the end! Poor ball! The music is very circus-like, as are the flags on the track and since the ball appeared to be doing "acrobatic tricks" as it rolled along (like a circus acrobat) I always thought of this segment as "Circus Ball 3".
I remember this ending very well! Love this segment. Don't know exactly why, but to me the music sounds like the song "Twas Brillig" from Walt Disney's 1952 release of "Alice In Wonderloand". I might have gotten the date wrong on that-I know is was released sometime between 1950 and 1954. Anyway, you know I'm talking about the original animated version! And every time I'm watching that movie and the song "Twas Brillig" plays I think of this Sesame Street segment, and vice versa!
I LOVE THIS CLIP! I remember this vividly as a kid, and it has stuck with me all these years... I just looked it up cuz it finally surfaced... I forgot about the music, but I really loved that little red ball... and this is the ending I saw, the original... I remember thinking that ball didn't look like it would grind to a fine power like that in 3 cranks! ( I was 5, ok)... Long Live Seseme Street!!!!
Wow - I remember this one! I used to love this segment, and wanted desparately to have a rubber ball coaster of my own someday! I especially remember the music for this segment - for some reason, it has stuck in my mind all of these years!
OMG. This is too much. I followed a link from Google's 40th anniversary icon, and first watched the same video with its revised ending. Halfway through, I thought: ugh, I remember this, and don't like it! That poor ball is about to be ground up! How surprised I was surprised to see the girl with three sundaes! This version is the original, and for a five year old, has a strangely disturbing ending. I must not have been the only one to feel that way, as it was obviously changed in later editions.
Absolutely. I haven't seen this since the early 70s, and I still remember that there were several endings. The one with the ball getting ground up has stuck with me -- seemed sinister at the time.
I remember a clip with THREE balls (One larger than the other). In front of them are 3 different sized holes. In turn they go into the wrong holes (I thought the smallest ball was the cutest {With the voice, & jumping OUT of the hole.}) Has anyone posted THIS video yet?
@Smartboy8877 Agreed. This may be going a bit far, but Playhouse Disney and Noggin almost beat Sesame Street. Almost, not quite though. Sesame Street still has a very, VERY small edge.
When you say beat, do you mean in the ratings? Given all of the new fangled shows out there, I can see how "Sesame Street" would have a very hard time competeing for today's audience! This is probably why, on a lot of public stations, it is only on once a day and this is at the crack of dawn!
@Smartboy8877 "Beat" might have a poor choice of words. Maybe I should have said "outshine". I'm trying to convey the fact that Sesame Street has been going strong for 40+ years, and it's only in the past decade that they started using the same format for every show. In doing so, the show becomes repetitious and dull.
As far as the time thing goes, I guess it depends on where you live. Where I live it isn't first in the queue, it's in the middle. That's the Public Broadcasting System for you.
I can see what you mean. It does get redundant when they use the same format for every episode! Very boring! On top of this, some people will say that the show is not "Sesame Street" anymore, it is "Elmo's World". I have no problem seeing where these folks are coming from too! I think that the show's days might really be numbered!
I've been humming this tune randomly lately and wondering which show it was on... I thought it was on Sesame Street, turns out it was... and I could NOT think of a way to look this up! I went to the S. St. channel but found the pinball counting. I clicked on a couple others and searched. Then I remembered the 1,2,3 part and noticed it in the related videos! Thanks! I remember all the endings. I liked the cherry one the best, lol.
@Zaximillian Me, too! It was so tragic. I kept wanting there to be one more step where the ball got reconstituted again, but no. It's just a handful of red dust. It was my introduction to death.
It might just be early memories being distorted, but I swear I used to think that the powder was some sort of topping for the sundae, this linking the 2 versions.
@netsurferx1 Yeah! When I first saw this, I thought it was a rasberry Kool-Aid powder. I remember seeing both The this, and the other one with cherry sundae. I always think it's Kool-Aid. But I think they filmed it twice during Season 3 for a suprise ending. They showed this film (And the cherries on sundae variation) in the 80's and 90's.
Finally! I have been wondering about this clip for decades and it is true! The poor little red ball is reduced to a fine powder in the end. I always thought I had imagined it! I'm being dead serious by the way. This IS my absolute favorite "video" from Sesame Street. In second place is 'We all sing with the same voice", and "Everybody Sleeps". Watch those clips and feel yourself become childlike in seconds. I never thought I would say something like that at 29 years old. Wheres my carpet square?
this is just great art, i mean I love that they chose the black backdrop so as to not take away from the main action plus it kind of added a little mystery and suspense as to where the ball was heading and who would rationally think oh and the ball is going to get ground up in the end, classic 'Street' man.
I think the sketch in which the ball lands into a small Number 3 Machine is a bit better than the other one, but anyway I like the other one as well as this new one I've seen today.
I can't believe no one ever comments on how FREAKY Sesame Street used to be. I also dimly remember the groundup ball ending, though it never bothered me.
(cont.) I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I remember being somewhat shocked and disturbed when I saw what happened to the ball. It's just one of those silly things that little kids get upset over for no good reason, but you never know, maybe there were others.
As someone who remembers this vividly, I think I can shed some light on why they changed it. It goes like this: I was 4 or 5 years old, spending the afternoon watching TV at the neighbours' like usual. My friends' dad got home from work during Sesame Street, and was trying to have a conversation with me, but I wouldn't make eye contact because I didn't want to miss a second of this clip, which seemed like the coolest thing ever. (cont.)
This is the only *logical* explanation I could think of myself. Still, they don't show it being ingested and enjoyed, which would've satisfied our curiosities. I'm not completely convinced.
It probably wasn't candy: in the late 60s, Superballs (a kind of miniature, high-bouncing rubber ball) were sold in powdered form, and "assembled" by adding water to the powder in a round mold. The boy in this film must've wanted to try un-making his...
Ah. Now we're getting somewhere. That predates me just by a little. I remember the 'Superball' brand when I was a kid in the 70s, but those were 'pre-assembled'.
Probably because too many kids were rubberizing their innards by trying to eat the stuff.
It probably is a reference to that. I didn't know about those; something to check into when I have time to kill (like now). Thanks Mr. Heever!
this is what kids dont have these days was soooo much beter back then. weird almost cerial sketches and stuff like the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 tune!!!.......
Back then I used to pretend I was that baker and have a handful of unbreakable coasters or something and pronounce loudly what I was carrying and fall down to great noise. Repeat until told not do that anymore.
I love rolling ball sculptures, and had forgotten all about this one from my youth! So glad to find it here! I'll be building one using this basic idea before too long. Those things are too much fun!!!
yeah, if you have a duplo train track set, then you can put the duplo underneath the part where the tracks join. though if it gets too high it's a bit unstable.
I didnt think you could solder copper. Doesn't it have to be brazed?
I tried building mine out of rubber hose and wood sticks. The ball didn't stay on the hose so I tried to make guard rails out of wooden chopsticks. That didn't work either. *sighs*
I failed the project, fortunately we had one 'drop' so I used it for that.
Copper and brass are the two most common materials to join using solder. That's what plumbers use when they put copper plumbing in your house. Brazing is used for things like cast iron.
The key, I have learned, is adequate heat. Due to the thickness of my wire (10 gauge) I've had to go from a soldering iron to a mini torch, to a full-sized plumbers torch. Fun stuff!
I didn't anthropomorphize the ball, but it did bother me that the ball got ground up because it didn't make sense. The ball had to be rubber to bounce the way it did, but you can't grind up rubber as if it were hard. So I figured the ball must have just triggered a mechanism that allowed you to crank out some powdered sugar, although why a machine would dispense powdered sugar remained a mystery.
But this makes more sense than the cherry ending! I always wondered how they changed a rubber ball into cherries. It isn't good to mess with kids' minds in that way. Science!
I never thought of the ball being ground up when I was a little kid. I always assumed that it was a gumball and it was powdered bubblegum that came out at the end! I would always say that I liked the 'gum' ending better than the cherry ending. Am I the only one who thought this? LOL
I'd like to know who built the track and why it was built, if not just for the clip. I can't imagine why anyone would build something like that, and I find it hard to believe they were able to stage the ball fallin down into the things catching it and dropping it. That kind of thing only works in cartoons!
watching the ball getting ground up disturbed me. i didn't know why it happened & the dark background was creepy-ish with the happy music. the cherry ending made it happier.
lostintracy 5 days ago
I was always disturbed when the ball came busting through the "3" at the beginning, and the black background made the whole video look so creepy to me.
The guy that made this coaster was a genius. I couldn't imagine calibrating the design for the interchange starting at :56.
thelonearranger1 1 month ago
Apparently the great Frank Oz actually built this wire roller coaster and directed the piece.
search for "Number Three Ball Film"
micmac99 2 months ago
One of my all time favorites.
micmac99 2 months ago
I always thought the powder looked like it would be tasty if you mixed it into water.
abraveastronaut 2 months ago
the grinding of the ball instilled in my lil mind that nothing is permanent, and things you like will be destroyed. im 42, and still feel the effects of this way of thinking in my life today, great job sesame street, hope youre happy!
gearboxbreaker 2 months ago
Ahh yes, the ball is ground up. But now kids can watch Sandy Squirrel Pound Patricks head point into his body with her fist. Now that disturbed me.
nancyut1 2 months ago
never knew why they ground him up in the end ;-(
pockmarkedbuttocks 2 months ago
WOW. u guys won't believe how i got to this video
i was viewing a video of family guy. then theres a comment which includes ELMO's name. THEN SUDDENLY I REMEMBERED THIS!!!! i immediately typed sesame street counting numbers rolling ball, and WOW.....WOW....i'm so amazed how my mind worked....
THIS FUCKIN BRINGS BACK SO MUCH MEMORIES! REMEMBER THE BETAMAX???
greenpokerchip 2 months ago
i was born in '78 so when i saw this as a kid in the 1980's when was kid. it was repeats i love the end part when the ball turn into powder pretty cool and that looney music there too unfortunlately its the only clip of the number it has"3". good times!
actorflaw 3 months ago
this nostalgic stuff that aired on SS back during the 70's and 80's were segments that had thought and devoted time put into them...these days...why?
splotchboi2770 3 months ago
Always thot this was so cool!
Charla1606 4 months ago
nice erector set
cavalierfan1995 4 months ago
from 1970
peace1996ny 4 months ago
I remember both this and the cherries one!
madamewoselle 4 months ago
Kids these days need to see stuff like this. We need them to see how Sesame Street was & should be.
xsailor85 5 months ago
this rolling ball track would be great for Super Monkey Ball.
sideslide23 5 months ago
I wonder who built the track system ?? that is a HUGE amount of wire and sottering to build this device. I wonder if it still exists.
ProfessorIgor 6 months ago
@ProfessorIgor - Jim Henson designed and built it, and shot the footage!
OofusTwillip 3 months ago
I once thought it was Kool-Aid powder!!!
ShadesBelow03 6 months ago
This is considered "rare" because the ending was changed after negative reactions from children who were distressed over the destruction of the ball. The revised ending was "happier" because the ball was changed into cherries toppings for ice cream treats.
thezaylady 7 months ago
Don't know how "rare" this ending is... it's the one I remember as a kid.
SecondMarlowe 7 months ago
My nephew was about 3 and he used to cry at the end when the cute little ball got pulverized. What memories!!
Janadu 8 months ago
@ 1:13 -- FATALITY!
DrLove0378 8 months ago
rare ending? this is the only ending i remember. lol
SomethingReal1119 8 months ago
This is my first time seeing this one, I never even knew about it. I grew up with the cherries.....which I still never quite understood how a ball can turn into cherries. LoL
Terri86 9 months ago
ialmost ate a bouncy ball because of the other ending
madgrinchhatter 10 months ago
this is the version i remember... man this takes me back....i never understood the little girl with the cherries..i thought red balls could turn into cherries..oh kids...
Retrocool74 10 months ago
i recall both of the versions...it reminds me of a roller coaster....
trashpicker1970 10 months ago
This is the only one I ever remembered. It was rather sad, and the cherry one does better demonstrate 3. Still, nostalgia. Def early '70s.
ionplants 10 months ago
The cherry one better demonstrates 3.
kobraf150 11 months ago
This is YouTube at it's greatest. I was thinking about this clip earlier today, did a search and there it is.
BAD ASS!
LOVE the brutal ending.
Glitch969 11 months ago
One of my favorite Sesame Street segments.
kokernutz 1 year ago
I knew there were a few different endings, but this is the only one I could ever remember. Glad to see I wasn't the only one who found it depressing.
Devitron5000 1 year ago
This is the ending that I remember too. It looked like Tang comin' out of that grinder.
openroad88 1 year ago
@openroad88
I think it might really have been Tang. I don't think that the ball was ground up for real, though the ball's onscreen "death" is still depressing. BTW this is the normal ending. The revised ending,which I like better, in which the ball becomes 3 "cherries" on ice cream is the rare ending. The one here is from 1971, and I think the revised "ice cream" ending is from 1975.
cmulwee001 1 year ago
This is the only ending i remember, actually. I guess it really stuck with me as I remember being totally bummed out. When I was looking for this I asked my younger friend if he remembered the one that ended with the red rubber ball being ground up into powder. Poor ball. *sniff*
a50sfreak 1 year ago
I remeber seeing this from the 2000's and always hoped that it would be on the current episode. Now i know why it was so rare.
mathguy360 1 year ago
That's the rare ending? That is the only ending I ever remember seeing.
TheLonersManual 1 year ago
I never saw this version until now, and it makes me go O.O. I don't know how I would've reacted as a kid but I probably would've still preferred the ice cream version because...well, it's ice cream.
chocoholic1x1 1 year ago 2
Not that I can remember as I was about 2 when this was first on, but my dad said that I always got upset when the ball came out as powder at the end. :-P
RabidRaccoonUK 1 year ago
THIS alternative ending traumatized my early childhood days in ways I can't describe
rtoles83 1 year ago 3
I wondered why the grinded the ball in to powerder after the rollercoaster ride. I thought to my self I'd roll it back again
geekbaritone 1 year ago
I always thought the powder was powder candy to go on top of the sundae which appears in the other version.
Muppephile 1 year ago
I wanted to be that ball when I was a little girl lol. mid 70's yes....about 77-79
BitzNSpurz 1 year ago
i used to loooove this! i wanted one of these sets...
sheikielala 1 year ago
I remember that one! They only showed it like once and I thought it was cool (hey I was three...)
brbgal 1 year ago
Oh! The many years I've tried to re-create this as a kid ... driving my parents crazy!! I still love these little 'ball roller coaster' things ...
LouniBinKweer 1 year ago
Sounds like Benny Hill Show
TheTallMan35 1 year ago
i think one of my first memories EVER... (I was 3) when the little ball went in the car at 1:14 and took a ride i remember shouting 'there goes!' 'there goes mom!"
ilovemayo123 1 year ago
@ilovemayo123
I remember this being one of my first childhood memories as well... about the same age, 3, when I first saw it. Captivating
RainMan34 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I always found this disturbing as a little girl - I followed the ball along on its adventure and then they just ground it up in the end!
travelingmum 1 year ago
I always found this disturbing as a little girl - I followed the ball along on its adventure and then they just ground it up in the end!
travelingmum 1 year ago
yeah this is really really old. Even before my time and I'm 31.
BillysMum 1 year ago
this is the only ending I've ever seen on S.S.
latex123456 1 year ago
Great psychedelic music
LiteracyLabyrinth 1 year ago
Roller Coaster ball.
sideslide23 1 year ago
This was one of my favorite segments on Sesame Street..it's just SO NEAT. I loved it getting ground up at the end. Brilliant piece.
meeshtube 2 years ago 5
Yes, I like the cherries better. :)
Jennafu832 2 years ago 4
Thank you!
ErnieandBert1 2 years ago
I never saw this, the ending I mean. I remember the one with the ice cream.
AlanMoorefan 2 years ago
Also, this was one of the only Sesame Street inserts made by Frank Oz, (that didn't involve puppets, anyway.) For those who don't know, he was basically Jim Henson's right hand man and puppeteered/voiced many of the characters on Sesame Street and the Muppets, like Bert, Fozzie, etc.
iceblueslushy 2 years ago
I came to YouTube to try and find this clip after reading about it in the Sesame Street 40th anniversary book, as I vaguely remembered seeing it.
According to the book, the reason they changed the ending was because upon its original airing it upset kids a great deal. One would imagine that the minds of preschoolers saw the ball as the "main character" of the piece, so it seemed to them like it was being killed.
iceblueslushy 2 years ago 6
that is just the longer ending, its not rare, i seen it about 33 years ago before this,,,,,,Lol im old
hobbit151 2 years ago
I always wondered why the ball was ground up at the end! Poor ball! The music is very circus-like, as are the flags on the track and since the ball appeared to be doing "acrobatic tricks" as it rolled along (like a circus acrobat) I always thought of this segment as "Circus Ball 3".
spy4863 2 years ago
I remember this ending very well! Love this segment. Don't know exactly why, but to me the music sounds like the song "Twas Brillig" from Walt Disney's 1952 release of "Alice In Wonderloand". I might have gotten the date wrong on that-I know is was released sometime between 1950 and 1954. Anyway, you know I'm talking about the original animated version! And every time I'm watching that movie and the song "Twas Brillig" plays I think of this Sesame Street segment, and vice versa!
spy4863 2 years ago
Thank you - my fav Sesame St clip - havent seen this since it was new.
PeterHBne 2 years ago
The only thing I hate,is when to ball gets turned into powder!
Irishstile 2 years ago
.Have to take my hat off to this, because this is how millions of children are learning how to count to three. Just incredible!
jarbon5 2 years ago 2
THIS is the rare ending? No, I always saw this ending while SS still aired this sketch :)
MiltownPunkette21 2 years ago
I LOVE THIS CLIP! I remember this vividly as a kid, and it has stuck with me all these years... I just looked it up cuz it finally surfaced... I forgot about the music, but I really loved that little red ball... and this is the ending I saw, the original... I remember thinking that ball didn't look like it would grind to a fine power like that in 3 cranks! ( I was 5, ok)... Long Live Seseme Street!!!!
emspectra 2 years ago
btw... I always wanted, and still want, one of those sweet stainless wire roller coasters... pinball of the late 80's started to use those designs!
emspectra 2 years ago
Same with me! That's interesting!
CaitlinBrooksMusic 2 years ago
why do I remember something about how they used to grind golf balls?
86maecenas 2 years ago
Wow - I remember this one! I used to love this segment, and wanted desparately to have a rubber ball coaster of my own someday! I especially remember the music for this segment - for some reason, it has stuck in my mind all of these years!
howmer001 2 years ago
OMG. This is too much. I followed a link from Google's 40th anniversary icon, and first watched the same video with its revised ending. Halfway through, I thought: ugh, I remember this, and don't like it! That poor ball is about to be ground up! How surprised I was surprised to see the girl with three sundaes! This version is the original, and for a five year old, has a strangely disturbing ending. I must not have been the only one to feel that way, as it was obviously changed in later editions.
86maecenas 2 years ago
Absolutely. I haven't seen this since the early 70s, and I still remember that there were several endings. The one with the ball getting ground up has stuck with me -- seemed sinister at the time.
woodstea 2 years ago
BOY! now dose THIS take me back. WAY! back. to th 80s
superlurf 2 years ago 2
The 80's??? It takes me back to the early to mid 70's!
mstatz 2 years ago 14
I lind of MISSED OUT on the 70s
superlurf 2 years ago
exactly!!
saintfevrier 2 years ago
I remember a clip with THREE balls (One larger than the other). In front of them are 3 different sized holes. In turn they go into the wrong holes (I thought the smallest ball was the cutest {With the voice, & jumping OUT of the hole.}) Has anyone posted THIS video yet?
stevenscottoddballz 2 years ago
@stevenscottoddballz
Yes, look up "Sesame Street - Three Balls"
bethpedone 2 years ago
YES! That's the one! Thank you SO much! I LOVE BOTH of these! I have added them to favorites!
stevenscottoddballz 2 years ago
@mstatz The 70's? I watched the premier Sesame Episode in 1969! I was just a wee lass of five years old! Love Sesame Street! :)
bunloveszep 1 year ago
Comment removed
BuckWilliams17 1 year ago
@BuckWilliams17
In my opinion, almost anything is better than the junk that they have on "Sesame Street" now!
Smartboy8877 1 year ago
@Smartboy8877 Agreed. This may be going a bit far, but Playhouse Disney and Noggin almost beat Sesame Street. Almost, not quite though. Sesame Street still has a very, VERY small edge.
BuckWilliams17 1 year ago
@BuckWilliams17
When you say beat, do you mean in the ratings? Given all of the new fangled shows out there, I can see how "Sesame Street" would have a very hard time competeing for today's audience! This is probably why, on a lot of public stations, it is only on once a day and this is at the crack of dawn!
Smartboy8877 1 year ago
@Smartboy8877 "Beat" might have a poor choice of words. Maybe I should have said "outshine". I'm trying to convey the fact that Sesame Street has been going strong for 40+ years, and it's only in the past decade that they started using the same format for every show. In doing so, the show becomes repetitious and dull.
As far as the time thing goes, I guess it depends on where you live. Where I live it isn't first in the queue, it's in the middle. That's the Public Broadcasting System for you.
BuckWilliams17 1 year ago
@BuckWilliams17
I can see what you mean. It does get redundant when they use the same format for every episode! Very boring! On top of this, some people will say that the show is not "Sesame Street" anymore, it is "Elmo's World". I have no problem seeing where these folks are coming from too! I think that the show's days might really be numbered!
Smartboy8877 1 year ago
Yes, this is from about 1971. My favorite Sesame Street segment.
bbypookins 1 year ago
Roller coaster balls I love this I remember this
sideslide23 2 years ago
I remember this! I freaking LOVE this video! :D
KartoRomixo 2 years ago
hehe I'll bet this wasexpensive to build & 0:47 is a HO scale track lol
microbusss 2 years ago
I've been humming this tune randomly lately and wondering which show it was on... I thought it was on Sesame Street, turns out it was... and I could NOT think of a way to look this up! I went to the S. St. channel but found the pinball counting. I clicked on a couple others and searched. Then I remembered the 1,2,3 part and noticed it in the related videos! Thanks! I remember all the endings. I liked the cherry one the best, lol.
OriginalPinkbird 2 years ago
as part of a psych test, i was asked to recall my early youth and my first conceptual understanding of death.
this was it.
the red dust. brutal and authentic.
i more often saw the alternate "ice cream" version in subsequent viewings, but i always longed for that dust.
the cherry sundaes felt like such a cheap, pandering compromise.
potangtang 2 years ago 5
I was bummed out when I saw this as a kid: "That poor ball did all that fun stuff and just got ground up!"
Zaximillian 2 years ago 40
haha.. thats awesome
eyepatchinc 2 years ago
Comment removed
JonasGrumbyBand 8 months ago
@Zaximillian
I was bummed too, but it helped me understand Pink Floyd's "The Wall" better.
JonasGrumbyBand 8 months ago
@Zaximillian Me, too! It was so tragic. I kept wanting there to be one more step where the ball got reconstituted again, but no. It's just a handful of red dust. It was my introduction to death.
MomIsSoMean 5 months ago
I used to want to have the track the ball goes through on these clips as a kid.
JuanMamaril 2 years ago 2
does anyone remember the name of the video this was from?
Kristenblisten 2 years ago
OMG!!! The POWDER ONE lol
Was waiting forever to see this version again, thank you!!!! :D
surrealfeline 2 years ago 4
The whole thing was built by Doozers
grammarcop 2 years ago
Let's hope Fraggles don't start eating it.
cjdunn 2 years ago
haha...it's a Fraggle dinner!!
mooky9669 2 years ago
I recall that in an interview, Frank Oz said that this was one of his first directing gigs... at least I think this was what he was talking about.
giantsean 2 years ago
I love the music,lol. I totally remember this! My son loves it, thanks for posting!
Whoozinga 2 years ago
It might just be early memories being distorted, but I swear I used to think that the powder was some sort of topping for the sundae, this linking the 2 versions.
Muppephile 2 years ago
Holy crap, haven't seen this one in SO long! Thank you for posting!
MiltownPunkette21 2 years ago
I saw the cherry one first, then I saw this one... made me wonder if you could eat that dust
Quixotic1018 2 years ago 2
That little car looks like it's on Lionel trucks....
cochranexyz 2 years ago
I always thought it was Tang.. LOL
ProfessorIgor 2 years ago
@ProfessorIgor I always thought the ball became Kool-Aid in the end. Kinda like you did, actually.
netsurferx1 1 year ago
@netsurferx1 - I thought it was powder candy to sprinkle on the sundae.
Muppephile 1 year ago
@netsurferx1 Yeah! When I first saw this, I thought it was a rasberry Kool-Aid powder. I remember seeing both The this, and the other one with cherry sundae. I always think it's Kool-Aid. But I think they filmed it twice during Season 3 for a suprise ending. They showed this film (And the cherries on sundae variation) in the 80's and 90's.
BuddyBoy600alt 1 year ago
lol i remember this on my sesame street video i have just always remmebered it for ages
DevotedToKevinJonas 2 years ago 2
Damn, I loved this sequence. So mechanical and Rube Goldberg-like.
warszawianka 2 years ago 3
I'm a little confused as to why the kid would want a hand full of powder???
MaddieKittie 2 years ago
This used to be played on Sesame Street when The Number 3 was the number sponser of that day
CrestwoodRocks 3 years ago
Finally! I have been wondering about this clip for decades and it is true! The poor little red ball is reduced to a fine powder in the end. I always thought I had imagined it! I'm being dead serious by the way. This IS my absolute favorite "video" from Sesame Street. In second place is 'We all sing with the same voice", and "Everybody Sleeps". Watch those clips and feel yourself become childlike in seconds. I never thought I would say something like that at 29 years old. Wheres my carpet square?
serialkixz 3 years ago 4
lol wow and here i was thinking i was alone.
nile82 2 years ago
Nicely said!!!!!
Trund27 2 years ago
this is just great art, i mean I love that they chose the black backdrop so as to not take away from the main action plus it kind of added a little mystery and suspense as to where the ball was heading and who would rationally think oh and the ball is going to get ground up in the end, classic 'Street' man.
Cjl99 3 years ago
I think the sketch in which the ball lands into a small Number 3 Machine is a bit better than the other one, but anyway I like the other one as well as this new one I've seen today.
finnishminnow 3 years ago
I like the Red Rolling Ball on this sketch. How about you guys?
finnishminnow 3 years ago
Comment removed
finnishminnow 3 years ago
I wish I knew how the heck the ball made the machine turn into cherry toppings for sweet tasting ice cream. What do you think and know?
finnishminnow 3 years ago
they killed the lil ball :(
moweed4me 3 years ago 2
I can't believe no one ever comments on how FREAKY Sesame Street used to be. I also dimly remember the groundup ball ending, though it never bothered me.
milovy 3 years ago 2
Why do they turn the ball into powder?
smjjohnson 3 years ago
red cocaine maybe? lol
Adz911 3 years ago
Oh my God, I remember this from when I watched it as a child in the late 80's.
So cool to see this again.
TheNilvarg 3 years ago
(cont.) I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I remember being somewhat shocked and disturbed when I saw what happened to the ball. It's just one of those silly things that little kids get upset over for no good reason, but you never know, maybe there were others.
BeefBoullionaire 3 years ago 6
As someone who remembers this vividly, I think I can shed some light on why they changed it. It goes like this: I was 4 or 5 years old, spending the afternoon watching TV at the neighbours' like usual. My friends' dad got home from work during Sesame Street, and was trying to have a conversation with me, but I wouldn't make eye contact because I didn't want to miss a second of this clip, which seemed like the coolest thing ever. (cont.)
BeefBoullionaire 3 years ago 2
This is the ending I always remembered. I never got what anyone would want powdered ball for.
megarouge2001 3 years ago 17
It's supposed to be powdered candy, kinda like fun dip...:)
realsailormoon 3 years ago 2
This is the only *logical* explanation I could think of myself. Still, they don't show it being ingested and enjoyed, which would've satisfied our curiosities. I'm not completely convinced.
Teratoma 3 years ago
It probably wasn't candy: in the late 60s, Superballs (a kind of miniature, high-bouncing rubber ball) were sold in powdered form, and "assembled" by adding water to the powder in a round mold. The boy in this film must've wanted to try un-making his...
hoopersghost 2 years ago 2
Ah. Now we're getting somewhere. That predates me just by a little. I remember the 'Superball' brand when I was a kid in the 70s, but those were 'pre-assembled'.
Probably because too many kids were rubberizing their innards by trying to eat the stuff.
It probably is a reference to that. I didn't know about those; something to check into when I have time to kill (like now). Thanks Mr. Heever!
Teratoma 2 years ago
the rolling ball, on that track looks like the Roller Coaster Traks on Space Mountain
sideslide23 3 years ago
Our beloved red ball, on a fun and exciting journey, only to be crushed in the end!
suchfunstuff 3 years ago 7
this is what kids dont have these days was soooo much beter back then. weird almost cerial sketches and stuff like the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 tune!!!.......
TheRetroDude 3 years ago
the music sounds like Summer samba by Walter Wanderley
Ahuebner2004 3 years ago
The powder looks almost like Pixie stix.
Ahuebner2004 3 years ago
Been looking for a recording of this, it was the only thing i found interesting about sesame street when i was 3.
sargentaaron2004 3 years ago
Wow. It's funny what you forget until you see it again.
Old Sesame Street was the bomb. Remember the chef with the cakes falling down the stairs?
Poseidon500 3 years ago 3
Those are all here on YouTube!!!
cochranexyz 3 years ago
I still can't find the cake stairfall!
Poseidon500 3 years ago
Oh, and the ants with the big Q!
Poseidon500 3 years ago
Search for this: sesame street baker
cochranexyz 3 years ago
The stairs seemed so much longer when I was a kid! LOL
Poseidon500 3 years ago
Back then I used to pretend I was that baker and have a handful of unbreakable coasters or something and pronounce loudly what I was carrying and fall down to great noise. Repeat until told not do that anymore.
cochranexyz 3 years ago 5
OMG, I did that too, using checkers & the checker board. I actually found out a way to fall down 7 steps without hurting myself.
A miracle I didn't shatter all my bones...:-)
BlackOfJuly 3 years ago
We should form a club of people who used to do that as a kid.
It *was* almost ritualistic.
Teratoma 2 years ago
I loved the rolling balls!!!
mykabanned 3 years ago
The metal structure is very Buckminster-Fuller-esque. I love the music. Does anyone know who composed the score?
choirhampster 3 years ago
I prefer this ending, because the other one makes me hungry.
Nogli 3 years ago
This was Frank Oz's directorial debeut
dickclarkfan1 3 years ago
Someone said the third ending (makes sense, the skit is about three) was a jawbreaker/gum ball.
Crackrzz 3 years ago
I love rolling ball sculptures, and had forgotten all about this one from my youth! So glad to find it here! I'll be building one using this basic idea before too long. Those things are too much fun!!!
ttharold 3 years ago
i used to build them with my duplo train track set and roll my super balls down it. oh man, those were the days ...
shinyglass 3 years ago
Maybe I should try Duplo blocks instead - spent two hours last night trying to solder copper for the rails without success.
ttharold 3 years ago
yeah, if you have a duplo train track set, then you can put the duplo underneath the part where the tracks join. though if it gets too high it's a bit unstable.
shinyglass 3 years ago
I didnt think you could solder copper. Doesn't it have to be brazed?
I tried building mine out of rubber hose and wood sticks. The ball didn't stay on the hose so I tried to make guard rails out of wooden chopsticks. That didn't work either. *sighs*
I failed the project, fortunately we had one 'drop' so I used it for that.
flowertrue 3 years ago
Copper and brass are the two most common materials to join using solder. That's what plumbers use when they put copper plumbing in your house. Brazing is used for things like cast iron.
The key, I have learned, is adequate heat. Due to the thickness of my wire (10 gauge) I've had to go from a soldering iron to a mini torch, to a full-sized plumbers torch. Fun stuff!
ttharold 3 years ago
Oh, my god, they killed the ball!!! :(
MurasakiYugata 3 years ago
I didn't anthropomorphize the ball, but it did bother me that the ball got ground up because it didn't make sense. The ball had to be rubber to bounce the way it did, but you can't grind up rubber as if it were hard. So I figured the ball must have just triggered a mechanism that allowed you to crank out some powdered sugar, although why a machine would dispense powdered sugar remained a mystery.
flowertrue 3 years ago
But this makes more sense than the cherry ending! I always wondered how they changed a rubber ball into cherries. It isn't good to mess with kids' minds in that way. Science!
mgncase 3 years ago
i remember this version
putasuzia 3 years ago
Wtf the ball never got ground up when I was watching this as a kid.
Its all about the version Uselesskgm has.
Lostris23 3 years ago
SS was shown in different countries and was altered slightly. I got the Canadian version....and this is how I remember this bit ending. ?????
GSTcheque 3 years ago
I actually remmember that. But very little of my memmory of it still exists to this day, almost as though I have a VHS mind. lol.
JoshGellis 3 years ago
I never thought of the ball being ground up when I was a little kid. I always assumed that it was a gumball and it was powdered bubblegum that came out at the end! I would always say that I liked the 'gum' ending better than the cherry ending. Am I the only one who thought this? LOL
LouPooYou1 3 years ago
I somehow thought the powdered stuff was some sort of topping for the sundaes in the other version.
Muppephile 2 years ago
Powder? Hmmmm. I guess the kid needs a stronger pick-me-up. One that is stronger than a sundae!
1977kb0wqh1996 3 years ago
I'd like to know who built the track and why it was built, if not just for the clip. I can't imagine why anyone would build something like that, and I find it hard to believe they were able to stage the ball fallin down into the things catching it and dropping it. That kind of thing only works in cartoons!
jeopardy60611 3 years ago