ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Sweep (puppet)

Okay kiddo, imagine you have a special toy that has long arms and legs. Now imagine you can put your hand inside the toy's head and move the arms and legs around. When you move your hand, the toy's arms and legs move too. That's a bit like how a sweep puppet works.

A sweep puppet is often used in theatre or TV shows. It's a puppet that's made to look like a person, usually a chimney sweep. The puppeteer puts their hand inside the puppet's head and moves it around. This makes the puppet's mouth open and close, and the head turn from side to side. The puppeteer can also move the arms and legs, making it look like the puppet is walking or dancing.

Sweep puppets are often used when a real person isn't available, or when it's too dangerous to use a person (like if you need them to climb a chimney!). They're also useful because the puppeteer can control every movement, making it look like the puppet is doing exactly what they want.

So, a sweep puppet is a special puppet that looks like a person, and the puppeteer can control it by moving their hand inside the puppet's head.