"'D'...dart!" ('Sesame Street' Wednesday)

You know what? 'Sesame Street'. That's what.

If you want to scream in terror over a 'Sesame Street' segment, this one might do it to you like it did it to me:



That skit is reportedly from 1970, though it aired for much of the '70s. And it was absolutely terrifying. I've said before that it may be the most frightening segment ever to appear on 'Sesame Street'.

Lest YouPube removes that clip due to feewinghurt, here's a description: It's a short cartoon about the letter 'D' and the word 'dart'. Accompanied by a bebop music bed, it briefly summarizes a balding man's unfortunate dart encounter. The letter 'D' flashes on the screen periodically like a subliminal message.

As the man throws the dart, the dart gets caught on the sleeve of his shirt and carries him past the letter 'D' and a series of blue stripes on the wall. His journey ends when he crashes into a dartboard - splattering his guts everywhere!

I remember seeing this on 'Sesame Street' when I was about 3 years old and being absolutely horrified by it! Every time this sketch came on, I had to hold my hands in front of my eyes and sneak glances between my fingers. I always hoped it would end differently - but it never did.

At the time, I had never conceptualized a dartboard, so I didn't know what the object was that the man collided with. I knew it had to be something that started with 'D'. Was it a drinking fountain? A dinosaur? A donicker?

Even now, I still think this sketch is a little bit scary!

But 'Sesame Street' was much better back in the days when this segment aired. We must restore 'Sesame Street' to its '70s greatness! That'll make America strong again - because Americans of my age will agree that it's because of skits like this that we're better people than we otherwise would be.