Muppets Take Smithsonian

Not that they weren't part of Americana already, but now they're behind glass at the Smithsonian. I hope they put some airholes in the glass though, Muppets do need to breathe.

I was talking with Jenny about Muppets the other day; every time I pass by the Wilkins Avenue exit on the Baltimore Beltway, I think of Jim Henson. His Muppets' first job as pitchmen was for Wilkins Coffee back in the early '60s (late '50s?). Now, I don't know whether they had a presence in Baltimore, but Wilkins Coffee was (is?) actually based in the DC area, in Capitol Heights I believe. So my free- association with Wilkins Avenue is just that; there's no direct link that I know of. Anyway, over at YouTube, someone has collected the old Wilkins TV spots, so check them out. Most are a more violent than I would have guessed a commerical back then would have been - lots of exploding, beaten, pummeled, run-over, coffee-dumped-on Muppets. Still entertaining though! It's also interesting to note that while the featured Muppets, Wilkins and Wontkins, are somewhat primitive by modern Muppet standards, there's really not a huge gap to bridge from them to Kermit or Fozzie.