5 Facts About Mister Rogers So Wholesome That You’ll Need to Shower in Filth After Reading Them
It doesn’t get a whole lot more wholesome than Mister Rogers, of the famous television neighborhood. Generations grew up with him, and future generations hopefully will too via the power of YouTube and streaming. He truly might be one of the best humans we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in the last span of time, and if aliens had arrived during his reign, there’s no doubt he would have been who we’d sent to say hi. Even more impressive is that (fingers crossed) his legacy has remained untarnished, without horrific secrets and skeletons being uncovered post-mortem. Mister Rogers seems to have been a genuinely good dude through and through.
As such, here are five wholesome facts about Mister Rogers to convince you there can be good in this world after all.
He Responded to Every Single Piece of Fan Mail
Shutterstock
When you’re as popular as Mister Rogers was, it naturally invites a massive amount of fan mail. Rogers received an estimated 50 to 100 letters a day. Given not only the volume, but the fact that many of these letters presumably came from children — meaning they weren’t the most coherent or straightforward — he would have been forgiven for using a form letter. Instead, he personally responded to each and every one, according to program assistant Heather Arnet.
Nearly a million of those letters are preserved at the Fred Rogers Center in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Recipients also sometimes share them online when this fact circulates, like this Reddit user did.
He Mentioned Feeding His Fish Out Loud for A Blind Fan
Shutterstock
Mister Rogers himself, as well as most viewers, probably never thought about announcing the fact that he was feeding his fish every time he did so. After all, you could clearly see that was what was happening. Unless, of course, you were blind. One fan suffering from blindness wrote to Mister Rogers and explained that she was concerned about the fish’s well-being because she didn’t hear him talking about feeding them. From that point on, Rogers made a point of publicly announcing the distribution of the fishes' daily meals, so that she and other blind fans and fish lovers could rest easy.
Every Sweater He Wore Was Knit By His Mother
Sometimes, celebrities that have an overwhelmingly wholesome image can be revealed to have a less-than-ideal home life. If you were worried there was serious familial conflict behind the TV-ready Rogers, worry no more. One heartwarming fact indicating that he was as thoughtful off-screen as he was on camera? His famous sweaters, an iconic part of the show, were all gifts knit for him by his mother. Up until she unfortunately passed away, every sweater seen on the program came directly from her hands, a lifetime's worth of Christmas gifts.
He Saved Home Recording on VCRs
Shutterstock
It would have been easy for Mister Rogers to steer clear of political arguments, but he respected his audience enough that he never did. This extended to him arguing in front of Congress itself when there was an effort to make recording programs onto VHS at home on families’ VCRs considered copyright infringement. This bothered Mister Rogers, especially because his and other children’s programs were often taped to be watched together at more opportune times.
He testified to that fact, saying the below, and the Supreme Court ruled in his favor: “I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the Neighborhood off-the-air ... they then become much more active in the programming of their family’s television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been ‘You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.’ ... I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important.”
He Was Absolutely Not A Sniper With 100 Confirmed Kills
Shutterstock
Before we go, let’s, instead of offering another wholesome fact, debunk one of the most pernicious “fun facts” spread about Fred Rogers. Mister Rogers never served in the military, much less as a decorated sniper, and with a total kill count of absolutely zero. This fact is parroted by contrarians and wet blankets the world over, and it’s completely untrue. Some rumors even include that his famous sweaters were in fact to cover up military tattoos.
As we’ve already discussed, those sweaters came from nothing but an endearing love for his mother. Shame!
