'Sesame Street' Introduces Raya, the Poop Muppet

Everybody poops; just ask Sesame Street, which now features a new muppet, Raya, whose mission appears to be alerting the world to its poop problems. 

The Sesame Workshop released a statement detailing the horrific problems around the planet. The Workshop stated that 2.5 billion people currently do not have access to toilets; each year over 2.2 million children die because of poor hygiene and a lack of safe water and basic sanitation. Diarrhea causes 1.5 million of these deaths.

Raya appears in a new promotional interview in which she waxes eloquent about why wearing sandals is important: They keep you from stepping in poop. Raya says, “I know lots of things. I make sure to wear my sandals everywhere, especially to the latrine.”

Sesame Workshop is producing public service announcements featuring Raya warning children in developing countries to wash their hands before meals, keep their distance from stagnant water, and use toilet paper instead of their hands.