You know the beat. It starts with a funky, psychedelic bassline that feels more like a 1970s jazz club than a preschool classroom. Then comes the count. One, two, three, four, five.
For anyone who grew up with PBS, Sesame Street the number 5 isn't just a digit or a quantity of apples. It’s a sensory experience. Specifically, it’s the "Pinball Number Count," an iconic piece of animation that debuted in 1977 and fundamentally changed how kids learned to count. But there is a lot more to the number 5 on Sesame Street than just a silver ball bouncing off colorful bumpers. It represents a specific era of educational television where the creators weren't afraid to be weird, loud, and genuinely artistic.
The number 5 has always been a heavy hitter in the curriculum. It’s the halfway point to ten. It’s the number of fingers on a human hand. It’s the structural foundation of the "Number of the Day" segments that Count von Count has obsessed over for decades. Honestly, if you look at the history of the show, the segments dedicated to five are often the most experimental.
The Pinball Number Count: A Masterclass in Funk
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the pinball in the machine.
When Sesame Street tackled the number 5 through the Pinball Number Count, they didn't just hire a random jingle writer. They brought in Walt Kraemer to compose the music and Ed Newmann to handle the arrangement. They also landed a vocal powerhouse: Patti Pointer. Wait, no, that’s a common misconception—it was actually The Pointer Sisters. Yes, those Pointer Sisters. They provided the soaring, rhythmic vocals that turned a simple counting exercise into a Billboard-worthy funk track.
The segment for the number 5 is unique because of the "Five!" shout that punctuates the chaos. The animation, created by Jeff Hale’s studio, features a pinball traveling through a psychedelic dreamscape. You see a forest of giant number fives, neon lights, and a mechanical world that felt incredibly futuristic in the late '70s.
It worked because it was repetitive without being boring. Kids didn't just see the number; they felt the rhythm of it. The "5" segment specifically usually featured a trip through a fairground or a carnival setting within the pinball world. It’s high-energy. It’s frantic. It’s arguably the most famous piece of animation in the show's fifty-plus-year history.
Why 5 Matters for Child Development
Sesame Workshop (formerly the Children's Television Workshop) doesn't just pick numbers out of a hat. Everything is researched.
By the time a child is focusing on Sesame Street the number 5, they are moving past basic recognition and into the territory of "subitizing." Subitizing is the ability to look at a small group of objects and know how many there are without actually counting them one by one. Most adults can do this instantly with up to five objects. It’s a massive developmental milestone.
👉 See also: The Real Story Behind I Can Do Bad All by Myself: From Stage to Screen
When the Count focuses on five, he’s teaching more than just a sequence. He’s teaching a set.
Think about the "Five Jive." It’s another classic segment. It uses humor and physical movement to reinforce the concept. On Sesame Street, 5 is often the number where "groups" start to make sense. You have five fingers. You have five toes. It’s the first number that feels like a "handful."
The Baker and the Five Cream Pies
We can't discuss the number 5 without mentioning the Baker. You remember him. He’s the harried, mustachioed man carrying a tray of treats down the stairs, only to fall spectacularly at the end.
In the "Number 5" version of this sketch, the Baker (voiced by Jim Henson himself) carries five creamy, delicious-looking pies. He sings a little song, counts them out, reaches the bottom of the stairs, and—predictably—trips.
- He counts the pies: "One, two, three, four, five!"
- The slapstick pay-off happens.
- The pies end up in his face.
It's simple. It's effective. It’s classic vaudeville humor repurposed for three-year-olds. The reason this stuck was the physical representation of the number. You saw five distinct objects, and you saw the consequence of their weight. It made the abstract concept of "five" something tangible and, frankly, hilarious.
The Count’s Obsession with Five
Count von Count didn't join the show until Season 4 (1972). When he arrived, the way the show handled numbers shifted. Before the Count, numbers were often presented through short films or animations. Once Jerry Nelson brought the Count to life, the number 5 became a character beat.
The Count doesn't just count to five; he finds the drama in it. There’s the thunder, the lightning, and that signature laugh. "Five! Five wonderful bats! Ah-ah-ah!"
But there’s a nuance here. The Count actually represents a very specific type of mathematical thinking called one-to-one correspondence. This is the idea that each object being counted gets one, and only one, number name. When the Count points his finger at five different items, he’s modeling the exact behavior parents are told to encourage at home.
✨ Don't miss: Love Island UK Who Is Still Together: The Reality of Romance After the Villa
Interestingly, in the early days, the Count was a bit more... sinister. He would occasionally hypnotize people so he could finish counting. He was a "vampire," after all. Over time, the show softened him, but the intensity of his love for the number 5 never wavered.
Different Ways 5 Shows Up on the Street
Sesame Street is famous for "multi-modal" learning. They don't just show you a 5 and move on. They hit you from every angle.
Sometimes it’s Ernie and Bert. Maybe Ernie has five rubber duckies and Bert just wants to take a nap. The conflict usually involves Ernie counting them over and over, much to Bert’s chagrin. These "street scenes" take the number out of the abstract world of pinball and put it into a social context. How do you share five things between two people? (Spoiler: It’s hard, and usually involves a remainder that Ernie eats).
Then there are the "Number Stories." These were stop-motion or claymation shorts that often felt like little indie films. The one for five often involved a group of animals—five penguins or five hippos—navigating a problem.
The variety is intentional. Some kids learn through the high-octane music of the Pointer Sisters. Others learn through the slow, methodical counting of a vampire. Some need to see a man fall down a flight of stairs with five pies.
The Cultural Legacy of the Number 5
It’s kind of wild to think about, but the music from these segments has a life of its own now. DJ Food and other electronic artists have sampled the Pinball Number Count. It’s played in clubs. It’s a piece of "library music" that has transcended its educational roots to become a cult classic.
Even the visuals have been parodied and paid tribute to in shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. Why? Because the number 5 segments were the peak of Sesame Street’s experimental phase. They used hand-drawn cel animation, stop-motion, and live-action film at a time when most kids' TV was static and cheaply made.
If you go back and watch the "5" segments today, they still hold up. They don't feel "dated" in a bad way; they feel "vintage" in a cool way. The jazz-funk fusion is legitimately good music. The colors are vibrant. The editing is snappy.
🔗 Read more: Gwendoline Butler Dead in a Row: Why This 1957 Mystery Still Packs a Punch
Modern Interpretations
In the newer seasons of Sesame Street (the HBO/Max era), the number 5 is still a staple, but the presentation has changed. It’s often flashier, more CGI-heavy, and faster-paced. You might see Abby Cadabby using magic to make five things appear, or Elmo singing a song with a pop star about the number.
However, the "Legacy" segments still pop up. The show knows that parents—the ones holding the remote—have a deep emotional connection to the old-school 5. It’s a bridge between generations. You’re not just teaching your kid to count; you’re sharing a piece of your own childhood.
How to Use "Five" Concepts at Home
If you're a parent or educator looking to build on what Sesame Street started, don't just stick to the screen. The show’s "secret sauce" was always connecting the screen to the real world.
- The High-Five Routine: It’s the easiest way to reinforce the number. Every time your kid does something great, give them a high-five and count the fingers out loud. "One, two, three, four, five!"
- The Grocery Store Game: Ask your child to find five red apples or five boxes of cereal. It turns a chore into a scavenger hunt.
- Physical Counting: Use the "Baker" method. Don't just count pictures on a page. Count physical objects that have weight and texture. Five blocks, five spoons, five socks.
- Listen to the Music: Find the Pinball Number Count on a streaming service. Let the kid dance to it. The rhythm helps the sequence stick in their brain.
Honestly, the most important thing Sesame Street taught us about the number 5 is that learning shouldn't be a chore. It should be a funky, pie-throwing, bat-counting explosion of color.
The number 5 represents a shift in a child's brain from "just a few" to a "defined set." It’s the gateway to bigger math. And thanks to a group of funky sisters and a clumsy baker, it’s a gateway that we actually enjoy walking through.
Actionable Insights for Parents and Educators
To turn these Sesame Street concepts into real-world skills, focus on tactile counting. Start by placing five small objects (like grapes or pebbles) in a straight line. Have the child touch each one as they say the number. Once they master the line, move the objects into a random cluster. This forces them to keep track of which ones they’ve already counted—a skill called "tagging." If they can accurately count five objects in a messy pile, they’ve truly mastered the concept that Sesame Street the number 5 has been preaching for fifty years. Keep the sessions short, use a lot of "Count-like" enthusiasm, and don't be afraid to let a little funk music play in the background.