I remember that I used to collect these neon green stickers and place them on every book and surface outside of my house that I could reach. But I always wondered how did Mr. Yuk come about?

A doctor from who worked at the Children’s Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh, PA actually came up with Mr. Yuk.

Dr. Richard Moriarty thought of the symbol back in 1972 when he working as a pediatrician in the emergency room section in Pittsburgh. There was an other symbol before Mr. Yuk of a picture of a skull and crossbones that more resemble a pirate flag:

However the doctor noticed that the symbol didn’t really alert children of the potential hazard of poison so he teamed up with a graphic artist in coming up with a new design. The new team conducted research with preschoolers and presented the kids with three different design concepts for the sticker. All of them being different kind of faces. The first one was a dead face, the other look gravely ill and the last was a face that looked like it was screaming in a green color. Two out of the three faces continuously stood out to the preschoolers: the screaming green color face and the ill face. One kid referred both of those faces as “yucky.” So the team decided that that as a perfect name and the rest is Mr. Yuck History. I think you can still order Mr. Yuk items through the University of Pittsburgh.

Link is here:

https://www.upmc.com/services/poison-center/store

Also there is at least one know commercial on Mr. Yuk from 1971:

Until Next time!!