Electric Company

If you're about my age, you probably recall a children's TV show that ran on PBS called Electric Company. It had a similar sensibility to Sesame Street: educational, jazzy, and full of witty little winks to any adults watching. Electric Company didn't have the same staying power as Sesame Street, in part I'd guess because it didn't benefit from the charms of the Muppets.

One recurring character was Easy Reader, a tall guy fond of reading things aloud. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, we can see him again, which will boggle your mind even if you never saw Electric Company as a kid ... and not only because he looks a little familiar.

And if that isn't enough, you can get the whole Tom Lehrer educational songbook: Silent E, SN, OU, LY, and N'T.

(Serious Tom Lehrer fans may also want to check out some math songs heretofore unknown to the public, plus an old post of mine about Gilbert & Sullivan which features a great link for The Elements.)