Before Katy, there was Polly Darton

BOOB TUBE HISTORY LESSON: Decades before Katy Perry fomented a tempest in a teapot—make that two teapots—following a preview of her Sesame Street appearance, the kids’ show busted out a curvaceous guest of its own creation, People.com points out. Polly Darton, patterned after the zaftig Dolly Parton, appeared intermittently on Sesame Street between 1981 and 1993. Billed as "the sweetest little package in down-home country goodness," Polly Darton parodied some of Parton's greatest hits, including "9 to 5," whose lyrics had been tweaked for the show's viewers to "counting [from] 1 to 5." Polly didn’t show any cleavage, however; she wore a pink, neck-grazing dress accessorized with a string of pearls. The item also recalls Raquel Welch’s 1978 appearance on The Muppet Show, belting out "I'm a Woman" with bosom buddy Miss Piggy, the pair decked out in matching white tops with plunging necklines. (9/28a)