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t1_j9sb218 wrote

Today I learned…

I had zero idea Mr. Yuk was a Pittsburgh thing. Having seen these stickers throughout my childhood, I subconsciously assumed this was a federal government program. This is a really cool piece of Pittsburgh trivia, thanks for sharing OP!

Great to know that the stickers are still available too. Despite being cautious with cleaning chemicals around the house, my two and a half year old has been making me nervous lately!

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t1_j9tvx6f wrote

Same. I lived in WI when the commercials aired on TV in the 80s

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t1_j9x1hv4 wrote

Pittsburgh has had a great medical community for decades. I'm in the Carpenters' Union, and we developed the ICRA (Infection Control and Risk Assessment) Program with area hospitals, and it's being used nationwide by our union now

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t1_j9s61a3 wrote

Sure do.

To request a free sheet of Mr. Yuk stickers, please send a self-addressed stamped business size envelope to:

Mr. Yuk Pittsburgh Poison Center 200 Lothrop Street PFG 01-01-01 Pittsburgh, PA 15213

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t1_j9tbwr3 wrote

I wonder if they have the National number (1-800-222-1222) or the Pittsburgh Poison Control number (412-681-6669). I have a bunch with the local number.

In EMT school our instructor taught us the local number with a mnemonic; "They're Sick, they Ate One, it made them so Sick Sick Sick they flipped."

Learned that in 1998. Never used it, still remember it.

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t1_j9tp39k wrote

My school health teacher as a kid used a stuffed animal called mr frog, so we learned “frog got sick cuz he ate one, frog got sick sick sick upside down sick”

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t1_j9tu43q wrote

You all had useful stuff. I just remember the DARE posterboard with a bunch of pills stuck to it and thinking "Wow, they look like candy, I want one"

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t1_j9twz8p wrote

Lol the dare program is a large part of what made me want to try more than just pot

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t1_j9tvvbu wrote

How do you send a self addressed envelope? A bigger envelope?

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t1_j9uop17 wrote

….? You’ve never had to do this. Simply address an envelope to yourself and fold it into another envelope, or a larger one!

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t1_j9uy30j wrote

How often do you need to do this?

The only reason I can think of to get something free from a business that can fit inside an envelope.

Anything else, you'd just pay extra for shipping and handling.

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t1_j9v11a0 wrote

Once or twice a year, generally for a mail in contest, or some legal crap, etc etc

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t1_j9w50p8 wrote

When you pay property taxes, they ask you to do this (or at least they used to) so that they can send a receipt back. I never did it, because I didn't care enough to spend the time/money on it for the receipt, but they always sent a receipt back anyway in an envelope I didn't have to address with a stamp I didn't have to buy.

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t1_j9wlrju wrote

At work, relatively often. At home, almost never since the 90s ended. Send an SASE to....

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t1_j9uolae wrote

Always meant to do this, still on my bucket list lol

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t1_j9w9j3m wrote

This is awesome news, although I had to check the address to make sure I'm not being trolled. It is the internet after all.

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t1_j9s6cdf wrote

Mr. Yuk is mean, Mr. Yuk is green!

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t1_j9tvkf7 wrote

I just heard this in my head, that was the TV commercial. good stuff.

​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLsONa3gKIQ

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t1_j9tw2zs wrote

I lived in WI in the 80s and Mr. Yuk commercials appeared frequently. I had no idea until this post that it originated in Pittsburgh!

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t1_j9tyxrt wrote

and I had no idea it was a national thing. the stickers were handed out in schools when I was a kid, they were on our trapper keepers and all.

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t1_j9u2o7b wrote

In WI we had to call the poison control center and they'd mail them to us

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t1_j9s7ixe wrote

There’s a store and the t shirts are soft https://www.upmc.com/services/poison-center/store

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t1_j9t7uzy wrote

Dammit. On one hand I'd love to have one. On the other hand UPMC already gets too much of my money.

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t1_j9u3do5 wrote

Checkout Etsy! I just got a pair of Mr Yuk earrings from there and it looks like there’s a few shirts/ sweatshirts available too

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t1_j9t9bpn wrote

When we moved into our house there were like 300 Mr. Yuck stickers under our sink in the kitchen. When a plumber came to fox a clog, he was SO EXCITED to find them. I let him take them because it clearly meant more to him than to me. Glad to know I could get more should I ever need them

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t1_j9t18m7 wrote

I put these all over my baby brother when he was born

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t1_j9s7omp wrote

My aunt works at children's and gave me some a few months ago. I don't know if you can get them from children's or the poison hotline. Maybe a pharmacy?Sorry can't give you an answer.

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t1_j9tkirb wrote

These were ubiquitous in the 70's and 80's. I remember seeing them in a liquor cabinet.

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t1_j9vayue wrote

Wow I'm surprised studies showed this wasn't effective because as a kid I feel like it worked really well and I knew what to avoid

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t1_j9vocdg wrote

It worked for me, mostly because the commercial was so scary.

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t1_j9wxuc0 wrote

I remember being scared shitless by the commercials. Can vividly remember running away from the TV crying when they came on

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t1_j9sa18d wrote

Yes! Penn State Extension distributes them as part of poison prevention education to 1st grade students

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t1_j9tenzo wrote

Yep. my second grader brought them home. Got them on everything under the kitchen sink.

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t1_j9u77u6 wrote

Yes. Poison control sent me a whole bunch when I called them recently.

My pediatrician was the creator of Mr. Yuk!

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t1_j9upuol wrote

r/todayilearned Mr. Yuk had his origins in Pittsburgh.

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t1_j9tjinm wrote

I got some stickers at the Heinz History Center gift shop in the past. They also had some merch for sale. I bought a Mr. Yuk magnet. This was years ago, so might want to call first if you want to check there.

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t1_j9tvj3w wrote

I remember I ordered a Mr. Yuk mask a few years back. But yes they still make the stickers as I'm sure you've found out by now.

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t1_j9u9myq wrote

Clubs used to hand these out when they knew Roethlisberger was coming

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t1_j9thxy1 wrote

I found this on the back of the cabinet under my sink when I bought my house. Assumed it was because the previous owners had young kids. Live that it’s a PA thing.

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t1_j9u3xgi wrote

I feel like the campaign where mr yuk was explained to kids is less abundant. I heard about it in school, church, PALS, etc

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t1_j9ujis4 wrote

Was on every bottle under the sink when I was a kid.

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t1_j9um9rn wrote

We used to put them on our son's hockey helmet whenever he scored a goal.

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t1_j9w7xza wrote

Yes they do! My client goes to schools and does presentations and gives out the stickers afterwards

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t1_j9wh9hu wrote

YES m! I ordered a pack on Amazon to label the edibles in my house 🔥🔥🔥

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t1_j9wozpl wrote

Not sure if they still do but the pharmacy used to give them out free.

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t1_j9wx56p wrote

Wait was Mr. Yuk the first Emoji 😳? Another Pittsburgh innovation!?!

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t1_j9yozyp wrote

I just got some sheets of stickers and a couple of magnets when I went to the pharmacy for my covid booster!! Free!

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t1_j9smyl6 wrote

My 2 yo loves stickers. It's an obsession. These would be extremely counterintuitive.

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t1_j9tl30z wrote

You're getting downvoted but there are studies that said the stickers can attract kids interest. The poison control number is good but... better to keep things locked up.

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t1_j9tn9cy wrote

When they were developing Mr Yuk, they wanted to use something like a skull and crossbones but kids saw it and though "cool pirates" so they went with stink face instead

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