Rumors of Mr. Yuk?s death have been greatly exaggerated.
The mean, green, scowling crusader against childhood poisoning will appear Sunday in the nation?s capital to kick off Poisoning Prevention Week and continue warning children that things marked “Yuk” make you sick.
“Mr. Yuk is alive and well and working in Pittsburgh and lots of other U.S. cities,” said Edward Krenzelok, director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center and Mr. Yuk?s official spokesman. “Every U.S. state and territory can access that number,” wrapped around Yuk?s mug on every sticker.
In 2006, nearly 2.5 million poisoning calls came in to the American Association of Poison Control Centers hotline (800-222-1222), which is printed on all Mr. Yuk stickers. Another 1.5 million calls came in asking for information.
Pop-culture phenomenon?
Mr. Yuk has his theme song online as well as the original 1971 TV commercial, complete with psychedelic tie-dye background, on Youtube.com. He has been featured in rap lyrics and on T-shirts and became the center of a copyright dispute in November when a St. Paul, Minn., political group appropriated Yuk?s image in a local referendum fight.
In Washington Sunday, Krenzelok said, kids can pose with an oversize cutout of Mr. Yuk.
The Maryland Poison Center distributes more than 100,000 Mr. Yuk stickers each year, and in 2007, took 65,000 calls, said director Bruce Anderson.
Mr. Yuk was conceived by the Pittsburgh Children?s Center in 1971 as a mascot and a way to pre-empt poisoning calls. The original face, with a stick body, was drawn by a local student in a talent competition.
In the 1980s, two published studies suggested Yuk could be too attractive to very young children, but Krenzelok downplayed the findings.
“You can put a skull and crossbones on something, and a child doesn?t know what that means unless there?s education,” he said. “Without education, nothing is going to work.”
The other key part is to keep cleaners and other toxins locked or out of reach.
In 2002, the Association of Poison Control Centers created a national toll-free hotline to connect parents to the nearest poison center, and Mr. Yuk got a facelift.
Krenzelok said his call center keeps the original Pittsburgh phone number open and still get a few calls a month. But each year the center prints millions of new stickers to distribute around the nation.
