Yip Yips facts for kids

The Yip Yips are fun characters from the TV show Sesame Street. They are friendly visitors from the planet Mars. These unique creatures have squid-like tentacles, large eyes, and antennae. When they arrive, they float into a room and say, "Yip-yip-yip-yip... Uh-huh" in a calm voice.

The Yip Yips are very curious about Earth. They often find common objects and wonder what they are. To learn, they use a special "Earth book." This book helps them understand new things. For example, they once tried to talk to a telephone using greetings like "Hello." When it didn't work, they said "nope nope nope." They even tried calling it a cow or a cat! Finally, when the phone rang, they understood it was a device for making sounds. They were very happy to have figured it out.

They love exploring things like clocks, phones, and computers. If something scares them, they quickly cover their faces with their lower jaw and make a funny "goom" sound.

The Yip Yips were created by Caroly Wilcox. Many puppeteers have brought them to life, including Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Their puppets are simple, controlled by two rods. This design makes them look like they are floating in the air. The two Yip Yips you see most often are named "Bob" and "Joe." In the Dutch version of Sesame Street, they are called "Sjoerd and Hendrik Marsman."

Yip Yip Adventures

The Yip Yips have had many exciting adventures on Sesame Street. They are always discovering new things and learning about Earth.

Discovering Everyday Objects

The Yip Yips are famous for finding common objects and trying to understand them.

• 1972: They discovered a telephone and learned how it works.
• 1972: They explored a grandfather clock and its ticking sounds.
• 1979: They found a radio and listened to its music.
• 1990: They learned about books, first trying to eat or smell them, then discovering how to read.
• 1992: They investigated a faucet and how water comes out.
• Unknown: They explored a toaster and watched it pop up toast.

Meeting Friends

The Yip Yips have met many friends on Sesame Street.

• 1978: They surprised Ernie and almost took Bert to outer space for oatmeal.
• 1986: They played with Luis's computer and left him a flower.
• 1987: A Yip Yip sang in the Old MacDonald Cantata with other Muppets.
• 1988: They watched Luis and Maria show their love for each other.
• 1988: They joined Kermit on a "News Flash" from Old MacDonald's Farm.
• 1988: They were contestants on the Bring that Thing game show, finding things that make light.
• 1989: They sang "Get Along" with Kermit and other characters.
• 1989: They sang the "Family" song.
• 1996: They appeared in Telly's song "Outerspace Friend."
• 1998: They rode in a limo with other cast members in the special Elmopalooza.
• 2002: A Yip Yip helped Big Bird find Ernie in outer space during a "Journey to Ernie" skit.
• 2012: Elmo delivered a pizza to three Yip Yips on Mars.
• 2020: They appeared in a story told by Samuel and Julia.

Yip Yip Merchandise

For a long time, it was hard to find toys or clothes with the Yip Yips. But around 2003, things changed!

• 2003: Hot Topic started selling T-shirts with the Yip Yips.
• 2004: Gund made soft bean-bag toys of them.
• Later, you could find light switch plates, action figures, and more stuffed toys.
• The 2006 Sesame Street calendar featured the Yip Yips for November.
• You can even buy costumes to dress up as a Yip Yip!

The Yip Yips were also mentioned in the Sesame Street Unpaved book, which celebrated the show's 30th anniversary.

• The Martians on Muppet Wiki, a Wikia wiki