One of These Things
From Muppet Wiki
"One of These Things" was a song written by Joe Raposo, Jon Stone and Bruce Hart and regularly used on Sesame Street for sketches where viewers would be shown a group of four items, one of which was different from the other three, and they would have to identify the item which didn't belong. In episode 3824, in which the Dingers plan on having a ding-a-long, the cast sang a variation called "One of These Dings".
A similar game was played to a different song written by Joe Raposo and Jeff Moss in 1970 and called "Three of These Things Belong Together", with variations such as "Two of These Things", "Here Are Some Things That Belong Together", and "Three of These Kids Belong Together". (The last version involved a four-way split screen with three children performing one activity, plus a fourth child "doing his own thing". Sometimes it was called "One of These Kids".) In some instances of the game, kids were encouraged to find more than one different answer, depending on how the things could be categorized.
This game has been used in segments starring William Wegman's dogs, and in animated form, melody only, with footprints. It was also the basis for a game in one "Journey to Ernie" segment. A line of the song is included in the theme for the "This is the Game Today" segments, and some of the games from "This is the Game Today" include this song.
Contents |
Individual versions
| Picture | Singer | Earliest Known Appearance | Subjects | Variations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan | W and three Twos | One of These Things | |
 | Susan | Shoe sizes | ||
 | Susan | | Shapes | |
 | Susan | | Silverware and a clock | |
 | Susan, Bob and Grover | | Circles | |
 | Bob | | Fruit | Some of These Fruit |
 | Bob | | Knick-Knacks | Some of This Stuff |
 | Mr. Hooper | | Groups of candy | Three of These Groups |
 | Kermit the Frog and Susan | Hammer, shoe, pliers, and a saw | Three of These Things | |
 | Kermit the Frog and Susan | Three birds and a frog | ||
| Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus | Three cut-out drawings of Snuffleupaguses and a cup | ||
 | Grover and Susan | Car and three animals | ||
 | David | Three starfish and one crab | ||
 | Bob | Sports | Three of These Kids | |
 | Bob and Maria | Three triangles and 23 | One of These Things | |
 | The adults, Gladys the Cow, and the kids | | People and a cow | One of Us Here |
 | Viewer | | Upside-down kids, right side up kids | Three of These Kids |
 | Viewer | | Three Policeman, one fireman. (all Kids) | Three of These Kids |
 | Snuffy and Alice | | Brussels Sprouts and Balls | One of These Things |
 | Telly Monster | | Three cans, one cup | One of These Things |
 | Uncle Wally, horses | | Uncle Wally and a singing group of horses. | One of Us Here is Not Like The Others |
 | Cookie Monster | Number of cookies on each plate | One of These Things | |
 | Ruthie, Telly Monster, Merry Monster, and The Kids | | A roller skate, towel, soap, and a Rubber Duckie. | Three of These Things |
 | Telly, Savion, and Kids | | A toy rocket ship, a pair of tap-shoes, a toy airplane, and a toy helicopter. | Three of These Things |
 | Gina, Kids, Elmo and Baby Bear | | A blue ball, a yellow ball, a blue pull-duck, and a blue block. | One of These Things |
 | Big Bird and Gordon | | The Squirrelles and a rabbit. | One of These Things |
 | Elmo and Zoe | | A number 1 and three socks. | One of These Things |
 | Cookie Monster and Ernie | | A hamburger, a cookie, pizza and a fajita | Three of These Things |
 | Elmo and viewer | | A soccer ball, a jump rope, jacks and Stinky the Stinkweed | Three of These Things Belong Here |
 | Big Bird and Cookie Monster | A cookie, a hat, a t-shirt, and a shoe | Three of These Things | |
 | Big Bird and Snuffy | Oscar, a hat, a mat, and a cat (Little Murray Sparkles) | Three of These Things | |
 | Maria and Kids | A kangaroo, a rabbit, a fish and a grasshopper | Three of These Things | |
 | Big Bird, Elmo, Zoe, Luis, Maria, H-Man | A helicopter, a hippopotamus, a ball and a hexagon | Sound of H (letter of the day is H) | |
 | Oscar the Grouch and Alan | Food scraps and a button | Three of These Things | |
 | Jay Leno and Big Bird | Three triangles and one circle | ||
 | The Big Bad Wolf, The Three Little Pigs, and Kermit the Frog - Sesame Street News Flash | Three pigs and one frog | Three of These Things | |
| | Luis | Three kids holding umbrellas, and one kid not holding an umbrella | Three of These Kids |
Audio releases
- The Sesame Street Book & Record (1970)
- One of These Things/Up and Down (single, 1970)
- Susan Sings Songs from Sesame Street (1970)
- Somebody Come and Play (1974)
- Susan and Bob Sing: One of These Things/What Are Kids Called (single, 1976)
- 10th Anniversary Album (1978)
- Platinum Too (1997)
Video releases
- Play-Along Games and Songs (Cookie Monster version)
- Old School: Volume 1 (in episodes 0001, 0131, 0276, 0406, and 0536)
- Old School: Volume 2 (in episode 1056)
- Let's Play Games (kids with umbrellas version) (on bonus CD-ROM)
Mentions
This song was included in a 2004 Subway commercial, where it was called "One of These Subs". It was also included in a 2000s McDonald's commercial for their chicken strips. It was also parodied in a Robot Chicken segment spoofing Sesame Street, featuring three dancing kids and one dead kid holding a flower.
