Mississippi is the 20th state of the United States of America.

• Jim Henson was born in Greenville, Mississippi in 1936 and lived in nearby Stoneville until the late forties.
• Leland, Mississippi bills itself as "Birthplace of the Frog and Home of the Blues," a reference to Jim Henson's having spent time there as a child. A plaque in Leland asserts that "These experiences and fond memories spawned in Henson's mind that timeless creation—'Kermit,' the original Muppet." Thus, with the apparent blessing of Jim Henson Productions and the Jim Henson Legacy,^[1] the city became known as the official birthplace of Kermit the Frog.
• Kermit's Swamp Years took place in Mississippi (in Leland and the surrounding area), thus placing Kermit's Swamp in the state as well.
• The Gogalala Jubilee Jugband sang "Mississippi Mud" on The Muppet Show.
• In 1970, Mississippi officials banned Sesame Street from public broadcast, claiming the integration of the show's neighborhood was "offensive" to some of the state's residents. The ban lasted only a single month.^[2]
• In Muppet Magazine issue 2, Mr. Bibby Bob ("Bo") Bender of Yazoo City, spots oversized cornflakes in the "Rarely Sighted Muppets" feature.
• Kermit the Frog led the school cheer for a University of Mississippi Football game in the early 2000s.^{[citation needed]}
• Mr. Dawson is Kermit's old acting coach from Leland, Mississippi.
• Kermit sits on the honorary committee in support of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center.
• In the Sesame Street sketch, "American I", one contestant is a letter B, hailing for Biloxi, Mississippi.
• The theme for the 2010 St. Patrick's Day Parade held in Jackson, Mississippi was "It's Not Easy Being Green." The theme, nor the parade, had any official ties to the Muppets or The Jim Henson Company. The parade did include a Fabulous Inflatables parade balloon of Kermit, and received a positive comment from Heather Henson.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ jimhensonlegacy.org
2. ↑ Evers, Medgar Wiley. The autobiography of Medgar Evers : a hero's life and legacy. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2005. p. 283.
3. ↑ Sherry Lucas, "Kermit to marshal St. Paddy's parade", Clarion-Ledger, March 4, 2010.