What are the triangles around Kermit's neck?
What is the ring of triangles around Kermit's neck?
Looking at pictures of frogs, I have been unable to find one that has similar markings. For example, take this picture of a typical frog:
Kermit, of course, has a signature ring of triangles around his neck:
So far I have been unable to find any credible evidence of what that ring is. No interviews with Jim Henson, for example.
One reason given is that ring hides a seam between the puppet's head and body: while this gives a why it is there, especially for a puppet built in the 1950s without modern technology, it does not explain what it is. Another is that Kermit started out as a lizard or nameless animal and later turned into a frog: however, would his appearance not be updated to match his species? Again, this theory does not explain what it is.
This thread on Reddit touches on the various theories and is a good, concise overview: however, it offers no credible evidence to back up any of the claims of what that ring is.
Why does Kermit the Frog have a ring of pointy flaps around his neck?
Note: if you follow the Wikipedia links for Kermit there are some articles that assert he was species-less at first with Henson quotes to back it up: however, upon becoming a frog I would expect his features to match that of a frog as close as one could expect a fictional anthropomorphized muppet to match. His original species is largely irrelevant to his frog features.
Best Answer
It's a... Collar. Like a Prince's or Jester's collar. It has nothing to do with being a frog actually, aside that it somehow made him look more frog like. Likely because it gives a nice separation between head and body. Otherwise he just looks like a lizard. Which he used to be.
But to Kermit, it's just a piece of clothes. From the Muppet's Wikia for the Collar.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie cuts in to the end of an interview with Kermit on Last Call with Carson Daly with the frog saying "...and that's why I have this funny collar!"
In The Muppets episode "The Ex-Factor," Piggy tells Kermit he should get a plastic surgeon to tighten up his neck waddle stating "Your pointy jester collar ain't hiding anything."
From another episode, "Crystal Gayle", he says he feels naked when it gets stolen:
Further more:
With the exception of Constantine and various other Kermit impersonators, no other Muppet Frogs sport a pointed collar like Kermit.
From "The Frog Prince" were Kermit first wore his iconic pointed collar. Notice all the other frogs are collar-less. Kermit is the only non-nudist in a nudist colony of frogs it seems:
From it's Royal origins of a Frog Prince, it's more like Shakespeare's collar than anything else.
Personally, it inspires images of a lily pad or water lily.
Pictures about "What are the triangles around Kermit's neck?"
Why does Kermit the Frog have a collar?
His triangular-pointed collar was added at the time to make him seem more frog-like and to conceal the seam between his head and body. According to Michael K. Frith, the relatively simple construction of the Kermit puppet allows the performer's arm and hand to produce a wide range of expression and gestures.How do you make a kermits collar?
According to the inside cover for The Kermit and Piggy Story, Kermit's middle name is "the." Kermit claims to have blue eyes in The Muppets on Puppets. According to a web-exclusive video from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Kermit graduated from Juilliard, where his roommate was Stay Human bandleader Jon Batiste.Classic Sesame Street - Kermit's Lectures - Drawing a Triangle
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Adrien Olichon, Adrien Olichon, Armin Rimoldi, Kübra Doğu