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WEDNESDAY

Did you know that fully 10 percent of the Sesame Workshop’s expenses go to “amortization of muppet acquisition costs”? And we’re talking about an organization that had operating revenues in 2003 of more than $93 million (up almost $10 million from 2002). Forget about investing in the next telcom technology—I say start putting all your cash into polyfoam and felt. On top of that, however, the total operating expenses for Oscar the Grouch and his pals were upward of an equally impressive $94 million. Could Kermit’s books be veering into Elmo-red territory? Perhaps Cookie Monster’s insatiable appetite ate into profits? Shouldn’t the Count have said something? These unseemly questions will probably not be addressed by Sesame Street creator Joan Ganz Cooney when she lectures on “The Evolution and Significance of Sesame Street” at 7 p.m. at the S. Dillon Ripley Center’s Lecture Hall, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW. $20. (202) 252-0012. (Dave Nuttycombe)