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There aren’t many folks in the United States who wouldn’t recognize Ernie and Bert, Big Bird or Elmo, but did you know that there are twenty versions of Sesame Street educating children on local issues and the alphabet from Israel to Nigeria?

Mental_floss takes a look at nine popular characters from the biggest street in the world and the roles they play, providing a fascinating look at the different cultures they serve.

The Israeli version of Oscar the Grouch is Moishe Oofnik, whose last name means “grouch” in Hebrew. The biggest difference between the two is that when Moishe started on the Israeli show, he lived in a broken-down car instead of a garbage can. The reason? Israeli kids are taught not to play in trash receptacles because they might contain bombs. Moishe also happens to be an observant Jew; he celebrates Rosh Hashanah by dipping apples into sardine grease for a slimy New Year.

Abelardo Montoya is the impressively monikered and plumaged Mexican parrot cousin of Big Bird who first appeared on Plaza Sésamo in 1981. He is not to be confused with Abelardo the crocodile, who prefigured Abelardo Montoya in the 1970s. Today, Plaza is broadcast across Central and South America and is conducted in Colombian-style Spanish, which is a more neutral form accessible to children in several different countries. In a sign of the times, Abelardo occasionally internet video chats with his big yellow cousin back on Sesame Street.

Full story at mental_floss.

Sesame Street without borders.