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This post started off as a trip down memory lane.
Then it became a question.
Then a bit of an obsession.
Now I’m just wondering what important information is lost in my brain to make room for ’70s TV memories.
I’m talking about that old Sesame Street cartoon where the lady has her kid go to the store, and the kid spends the whole time repeating “a loaf of bread, a container of milk and a stick of butter”. First off, it seems to me that there was either more to the list, or more to the kid’s rhyme. But those three have been validated through Google, so I’ll believe it. (I forgot that it was a “container” of milk, though thats understandable, since I don’t think I’ve referred to it as a “container” of milk ever. And I had thought there were eggs involved. Oh well.)
Here comes the first question. About half the websites (mostly blog entries) I found referred to it as a boy, the other half as a little girl. I distinctly remember it as being a boy. An inner city black (as African-Americans were called in the ’70s) kid dodging all kinds of distractions to get his bread, milk and butter. Maybe this would be better served as a poll question, but which was it? A boy or a girl?
Next question. Pete and I agreed to remember that one of the distractions on the street was a pimp. I’m sticking to that memory, but reading my research, I’m wondering if I might have my Sesame Street sketches confused. That and a little Simpsons thrown in. We ALL remember young Homer being chased through the streets of NYC by a pimp, and I know that it happened in Sesame Street, too, but one post I read (which I was either too dense or too ignorant to copy the link) flashed back to the boy’s dream where he gets lost and meets a man that morphs into all kinds of things to help him get back home. THAT, I believe, was a pimp. Now I’m even more lost.
So now I’m figuring out my next step. I really wish it was as easy as getting a movie clip of the “stick of butter” sketch, though that might not answer my pimp question, so I’d need the morphing sketch too. Ah, maybe I’ll just dig out that Simpsons episode and forget all about it.
It IS, after all, the weekend!
ADDED: I can’t believe I forgot this link! Seems this chick remembers the “stick of butter” sketch, which is cool. But she’s of the “it was a girl” memory. Not cool. Anyway, what got MY attention is the post about her “sex with David Spade” dreams. I think it was this line:
“I don’t like the annoying needy, nerdy, whiny qualities of his character on Just Shoot Me.”
…or those EXACT SAME qualities in EVERY OTHER character he’s ever done.
There. Now its the weekend.
February 22nd, 2005 at 4:50 pm
Maybe there were two versions, but the one I remember (and I remember it well) was definitely a boy in the city. No doubt about it. http://www.threadless.com/subs/big/31106.gif
April 20th, 2005 at 10:25 am
Maybe it was one of those non-gender specific type characters? I remember a short hair-do – one that could easily be interpreted male or female.
Good question. So nice to help me procrastinate from preparing for finals. Glad I found you.
~allegro
April 29th, 2005 at 2:03 pm
It was definitely a girl. In fact, I remember her name…it was Wilhelmina. I wish I could find a download of it! I’d love to see it again.
April 29th, 2005 at 8:16 pm
Yes, I remember it as Wilhemenia – a black girl, too. And I remember as she was walking, she got herself all confused, and was saying “a stick a bread, a loaf a milk a container a butta” or something like that… Seems to me there were a few Wilhemina skits, because I remember “W-wh-wh-whilemenia” (unless that was part of this one, too?)
July 27th, 2005 at 4:48 pm
SOMEONE PLEASE help me find this. I am sitting at work talking to a co-worker about this skit. We thought it was a PSA and we both agree it was a little black boy. Can you contact Sesame Street and pay for the clip. I’d love to have it for my kids to grow up with.
KP
April 4th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
[...] What I remembered the other day, though, is that I learned that strategy from Sesame Street. If you’re in my age bracket (born in the ’70s, growing up in the ’80s), do you remember the “a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter” Sesame Street animated short? God, I had forgotten all about that until very recently … [...]
April 28th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
There WAS more to the list
it goes…ahem…”a loaf of bread, a carton of eggs, a container of milk, and a stick o’ butta’”
May 15th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
it was “a loaf a bread, a containa a milk and a stick a butter” – it was a girl too. remember how she pictures her mother in her mind saying it and when she gets home, she’s all excited “I REMEMBERED MOMMY, I REMEMBERED!”
p.s. i was looking for the “w … for WILHELMENIA” skit on google and found this site
go to youtube.com and there is a TON of old skool sesame street avail for your viewing pleasure (but not this one or the w one, dammit)
June 23rd, 2006 at 4:51 pm
this site has the most descriptive details of the sketch. its perfect!
http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showpost.php?p=186573&postcount=12
June 25th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
No, it was DEFINITELY a little boy………have been searching for the clip , and google brought me here. His mother sends him to the store , and he is just trying to remember what for. Wilhemenia was from a different skit………..
June 29th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
Glad to find this blog as I was dangerously close to madness. This repetitious phrase has been bugging me for years. I distinctly remember a little African-American BOY being sent to the store by his Mom. Think about it, in those days would a little girl be given such a task? Doubtful. Anyway,one can even get a T-Shirt
from zazzle.com (I have no stake in this site, just FYI).
July 12th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
I have found it, and it’s on the “BEST OF ELECTRIC COMPANY” dvd, i believe..
it’s a girl named Wilamena.. and it’s definitely THREE ITEMS..
the person who uploaded the clip got their account suspended, but on my playlist:
http://youtube.com/my_playlists?p=87A8828BA0AA0592
..you can see the description.. I also found two other shorts by the same animator, Jim Simon.
He did a show from the seventies called “Vegetable Soup”, and I guess, his studio Wantu Studios did the beginning of Soul Train back then..
Pretty cool, huh?
I also remember a short by him where a football player was saying “throw it to me”, and a giant “IT” fell from the sky and he said “I got IT”..
anyone else?
July 23rd, 2006 at 11:10 pm
I found it!!!!
Ihave wanted to see this for years and I found it!
I dont know why I liked it so much…. And by the way its a girl!!!!
July 23rd, 2006 at 11:11 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_9yd5juEBw
July 26th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
I loved that sketch! It was definitely a girl, not many boys wear dresses and bows in their hair! No one ever says her name though.
February 9th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
You know, I was just looking this up, and I definitely remembered a boy, but then I was directed to a Youtube clip of a little girl, so there were two versions.
June 4th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Maybe there were 2 versions, but the one I remember was Definitely a little african american boy with an afro. I’m 95% sure that a “carton of eggs” was included in the list. None of those youtube clips work anymore, so sadly I cant see this version with a little girl… I NEED this clip! haha. I gotta see it again. I gotta! I shall search more, and If I find the little boy version, I’ll post it *crosses fingers*
June 4th, 2007 at 7:19 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFy2jHSIOKA
there’s the clip of the one you’ve all been talking about, since the other clips were removed.
I shall continue my quest!
June 13th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
There was another one like this with a little boy going to the store, he walks past a pimp and a whole bunch of other weird things. In that sketch, he has to remember all of things he passed to remember how to get back home. The animation was similar to “loaf of bread…”
August 6th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
This phrase has been stuck in my head for years! I brought it up today with someone about my age and he looked at me like I was nuts. With the help of your blog and searching on youtube, I see now that no less than three sketches morphed together in my memory. The first was the container of milk one. The second was the boy with the bicycle and the third was the pinball one. Now I even know the Pointer Sisters played a role in the last one.
Thanks!
September 17th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Here it is!
September 17th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Here it is!
http://www.current.tv/pods/retro/PD04205
December 9th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
I found it! There was a second cartoon with a lost boy on a bike and he runs into the yo yo man (or pimp). I merged the two in my memory also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6NsCvCn2EY
And the boy with the hat? Billy Jo Jive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb5a2cCxcb0&feature=related
May 24th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
It was a black girl with a raspy voice.
August 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
There was most likely two versions of this skit.
I definately remember a BOY and he said “QUART of milk” with a little pimp walk of sorts. I remember trying to walk like him when I used to go to the grocery store with my mom and I just kept repeating “a loaf a bread, a QUART a milk, and a stick a buttah! I do remember there were some distractions on the way to the grocery. I’ve seen the version of the little girl and that is NOT same skit.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Why not ask Jim Simon (Mr. WANTU)he is the producer, designer and animator for that Sesame Street video. His sister-in-law does the voice for the mother and his brother’s daughter is the voice of the little girl!
You can reach him at
http://www.simonizedportraitsandartbysimon.com
March 18th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Here is a web site with a picture of the cartoon. The character in question is wearing a bow in their hair, thus proving it’s a girl! I friggin knew it was a girl!
http://media.photobucket.com/image/loaf%20of%20bread%20a%20container%20of%20milk%20and%20a%20stick%20of%20butter/ejg138/a-loaf-of-bread.jpg?o=1
January 23rd, 2010 at 7:38 pm
I’m with with the two versions crowd. I’ve seen the little girl in a yellow dress cartoon (carton of milk), but the one I want to find was different. It was a little black boy (definitely not in a yellow dress)going to the store for his Mom. I’m leaning toward “a quart of milk, a loaf of bread (possibly a container of eggs instead), and a stick a buttah.” He kept seeing other things he wanted like a bike in a store window (a ball and a toy fire truck I think)and would include it in his chant “a quart of milk, a loaf of bread, and a bike.” When he got to the store he started listing the things he saw instead of butter. I believe by the end he does get it right. I can only find the girl version without distractions. I only had three channels growing up, sometimes I’d still watch sesame street when I was in high school.lol There was definitely a boy version and it makes me sad I can’t find it.
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Ok my bad…I morphed two Sesame Street cartoons together also. I’m happy I found the other one I was thinking of at least! The first is the black girl in the yellow dress. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jdP7HUPbVs
The second one is a white boy and he is only getting a loaf of bread and gets distracted by a brand new doll, a baseball game, and a firetruck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OMiRL5cSMk
Both cartoons have the mother at the beginning and the girl/boy trying to remember at the store.
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I LOVE IT!!! I’ve thought about this for over 30 years and now a 4 year old thread about a loaf of bread!!!! I remembered it was a girl, but I thought she got it mixed up in the store. Could there have been another version where the kid says ” a loaf of milk a container of butter and a stick of bread” or something. Hmmmmmm now I have to bookmark this page!
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:19 am
So by now we have all seen the version with the girl in it. I also remember quite vividly the other (still?) missing version, in which the black boy is sent to the store. Along the way, people ask him to add items to his list (one at a time). He repeats the list each time. At the end, however, he gets kissed by a girl and forgets the whole list! I know I’m a bit of a romantic, but I bet dollars to donuts I (and many others) are correct. Perhaps it would seem too racial among today’s more enlightened audience and it has been “lost”?
April 5th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Does anyone remember the episode where a young black girl was sleeping in her bed and having nightmares and screaming Help! I would really like to see that episode.
July 31st, 2010 at 11:09 pm
There HAS to be 2 versions. I also remember the boy!!