The Count Is Offered the Noble Prize for Counting on ‘Sesame Street’ in a Tribute to the Classic Character

Sesame Street recently paid tribute to the character of Count von Count, commonly known as “The Count” in a recent episode. The Count is scheduled to receive the “Noble Prize” for counting, but is stuck in Chicago because of a flight delay. The Sesame Street community tries to impersonate The Count for the Noble Prize committee, but they all fail to convince the judges that they are The Count. In the end, The Count teaches his friends the important lesson that it is better to count friends than count prizes.

The Count’s compulsive need to count things is a condition known as arithmomania. The character was originally operated and voiced by Jerry Nelson, but when Nelson died in 2012, puppeteer Matt Vogel took over the role.