IT'S BIG BIRDS BIRTHDAY & HE GETS A SHOUT OUT FROM GOOGLE!

It's Sesame Street's 40th Birthday on November 10th, and Google decided to give the beloved children's TV show a big gift.
Today's "Google Doodle," as the image that appears on the search engine's homepage is sometimes called, is none other than everyone's favorite 10-foot-tall avian friend, Big Bird. He is just one of the iconic characters to come out of the show during it's long history.

Click on the picture and it takes you to a variety of links regarding the show's anniversary.

The groundbreaking show, produced by the Children's Television Workshop and a staple of public broadcasting, was years ahead of its time in promoting values that are now taken for granted in many places - accepting and appreciating diversity, not making assumptions based on gender, and being sensitive to cultural and economic differences, are all ideas the show emphasized before it was fashionable to do so.

It was also innovative in incorporating jokes and references that only adults would appreciate, including pop music. A 3-year-old won't realize that a song "Letter B" is a spoof of The Beatles. But parents did, and it kept them, and their kids watching.

Celebrities and cultural figures appear regularly on the show. First Lady Michelle Obama made a recent visit to promote gardening and healthy eating habits.

But part of "Sesame Street's" message is that celebrity or not, we're all equal and deserving of respect, and that's how we should treat each other, too.

Forty years, on, it's one that still can't be taught enough.