Thursday, Oct. 06, 2011
Aristotle, the Blind Muppet
The real Aristotle was not blind, but nonetheless Sesame Street named its blind puppet after him in 1982. The character, sometimes called Ari for short, was one of the few monsters to be built with visible ears, cluing young viewers into his physical disability. The show used Aristotle to teach children that blind people can be just as capable as those with sight by having him read Braille and make sandwiches at Hooper's store. Though he only appeared on the program for a few years, he was one of the earliest of many "teachable" puppets.