[Children]

I don't think any kid's TV show has had a more sustained, more far-reaching, more worldwide reach than Sesame Street, which celebrated its 40th anniversary yesterday. Every generation that grew up since 1969 (that's basically most of us) has fond memories of Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, and other friendly neighbors they meet on Sesame Street.

Sesame Street began in November 10, 1969 as a simple experiment to help underprivileged kids learn through TV. That simple experiment has since landed on the shores of more than 140 countries, teaching kids the values of honesty, eating healthy, reading and writing, and -- this year -- global warming.

Okay, not global warming per se -- but this year, Sesame Street is all about knowing about the Earth and loving the world we all live in. Climate change, apparently, is a grown-up topic, but that doesn't mean kids can't do their part in making the world a better place.

Guess who got to Sesame Street on its 40th birthday -- US First Lady Michelle Obama. Popular for teaching kids about home-gardening at the White House backyard, the First Lady gamely played with a multi-ethnic group of kids at Sesame Street and told Elmo and Big Bird that vegetables were what made her "big and strong." Yup, take it from her.

YouTube videos about Sesame Street have enjoyed a surge in popularity lately, owing to the approach of the Street's 40th anniversary. My favorite? Cookie Monster teaching Rocketboom's Ella Morton the finer points of eating a cookie. See video below, for a good dose of nostalgia.

This article has been brought to you today by the number "40."

Like most other people my age these days, I'm amazed at kids these days. They start their own businesses at nine, they learn to read at five, and -- judging from a news story I read yesterday -- make their first Internet purchases at three.

A New Zealand couple got the shock of their lives when they woke up last week and got an e-mail from an online seller, asking for NZ$20,000 -- about US$12,800 -- for a piece of heavy machinery that they apparently bought over the Internet the previous night.

That's when Sarah Quinlain realized that her daughter Pipi made the winning bid while she slept the previous night. Pipi, only three years old, had only been introduced to the PC and the Internet the week before. But with most kids these days, Pipi was a fast learner.

Sarah and Pipi had been browsing through the Toys section of TradeMe, an online buy-and-sell and auctionsite, when Sarah left her session online as she went to bed. The next morning, Pipi woke up early and snuck back to the PC, eventually making the winning bid for an earthdigger.

At first, Sarah thought the earthdigger was a toy -- but she later realized it was a real Kobelco digger, and the excited seller was already asking if she could make the cash deposit soon. She asked her husband, Reid, to see if the e-mails were real -- and they were.

Reid shrugged and said, "I guess we have to move the Honda."

No worries, though -- Sarah immediately called the auction site and explained herself, on behalf of Pipi. The site eventually agreed to cancel the sale, reimbursed the unimpressed seller, and put the auction for the earthdigger back up on the list.

Of course, Pipi's parents have learned their lesson -- never leave your buy-and-sell sessions online before going to bed at night. This is especially important when you're in a public place or working on a shared PC. It's a lesson that most people my age these days have yet to learn.

While the seller wasn't very happy with the way things turned out, most New Zealanders see the funny side of things. Most people on the blogosphere also do, and agree that it's a great story to tell when Pipi grows up.

I'm trying to understand the "fun" in kidnapping (and/or killing) young and almost unsuspecting children. No, really. Think about it. If all of us know this is wrong. Then why are these crimes still happening?