Mr. Yuk vs. Slim Chiply

I feel like crap today! I feel like there is some kind of toxic waste dump in my stomach. Speaking of "toxic"...

I wonder if anyone who reads this (besides my brother) remembers the old "Mr. Yuk" TV commercials? Mr. Yuk was a sticker that was invented in 1971 as the mascot for the Poison Center at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He was intended to replace the "skull & crossbones" that had traditionally been placed as a warning on poisonous products. Mr. Yuk was created out of fear that children might associate the skull & crossbones with pirates, and not be afraid of the toxic contents of a product. According to the internet, Mr. Yuk is still in use today.

I remember they made Mr. Yuk into a commercial that would play often on TV when I was very young. The commercial contained a large image of Mr. Yuk surrounded by some kind of swirling psychedelic green "poison", and his theme song played:



Mr Yuk Theme

It all seems funny now, but my brother and I were terrified of Mr. Yuk when we were very small. I remember that commercial came on one afternoon, and we started crying and screaming. My Dad came running out of the bedroom (where he had been sleeping, because he was working 3rd shift at the time) in an attack-ready pose, waiting to confront whatever horrible intruder was causing such panic in his children. Of course it turned out to just be the Mr. Yuk commercial.

I guess Mr. Yuk was very effective, because he definitely scared me away. Of course back then I also had an odd fear of Slim Chiply... He was the mascot for a Michigan company called Paramount Potato Chips. Slim Chiply was the "Flavor Deputy". He was not scary looking, but I think the reason he scared me is because the (really cheap) local commercial featured a MAJOR jump-cut to Slim Chiply. This means he would pop up on the screen very quickly. The commercials would start with some kids playing, then *BAM* Mr. Chiply was in your face!! Scary to a little kid, I guess. That, or I just hated those potato chips... I can't remember. ;^)

I'm not sure why I'm rambling on about things that scared me in my youth? Maybe I'm just trying to distract myself from how awful my stomach feels today?