I need Poison Help!!!

So today me and the other two people I’m meeting here in Oklahoma paid a visit to the art museum on the University of Oklahoma campus.  We wound up in the museum’s gift shop afterwards, and for once, I actually bought something… a book that caught my eye, and it had nothing to do with art.  “Whatever Happened To Pudding Pops?” by Gael Fashingbauer and Brian Bellmont recalls pop culture of the 70’s and 80’s that was popular then, but not so much now.  While there’s no telling if I’ll ever make time to read all of it, I’m sure it will give me inspiration for Flashback Friday posts… such as the pretty face you see leading off this post….

One of the first pages that caught my eye as I thumbed through had the very recognizable mug of a certain Mr. Yuk, who any good child of the 70’s or 80’s knows quite well.  According to the book, Mr. Yuk sprung to life in the early 70’s in the form of PSA’s on television, and of course in the little round stickers that were commonly seen several decades ago.  Mr. Yuk was supposed to be put on anything in the house that was poisonous to remind children not to eat or drink it… like bleach, drain cleaner, leftover meatloaf, and those packages of silica that look so damn good they need their own legal disclaimer…

Mmmmmm, so tasty, yet it will make your intestines fall out of your rear end….

Mr. Yuk was created by the Pittsburgh Poison Control Center, which is quite odd given that since Pittsburgh is a heavily industrialized area like where I live is, the children should pretty much be immune to anything after growing up in that environment.  I’m pretty sure I could drink a lye and liquid uranium cocktail and barely even get gas…

When I travel, I marvel at the lack of smoke in the sky…

I was always fascinated by stickers as a kid, and we got some Mr. Yuk stickers one year in grade school.  I put those bad boys all over everything, including my sisters.  According to “Pudding Pops”, Mr, Yuk is still going strong via the Pittsburgh Poison Center, though he is nowhere near as prevalent as he was back in the day.  Here’s to you, Mr. Green!  I raise my glass of Fabuloso in your honor….

It’s a sports drink and floor cleaner all in one!  Bottoms up!