Yuk!

In 1971, Mr. Yuk was created by the Pittsburgh Poison Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Since then, Mr. Yuk has been used to educate children and adults about poison prevention and to promote poison center awareness. In addition, Mr. Yuk has raised awareness that poison centers are available 24 hours-a-day, every day of the year to assist in the management of poisoning emergencies.

I grew up with Mr. Yuk's green face of warning, and it left a huge impression on me. I've always gotten a kick out of this little logo and his image continues to inspire me in strange ways.

Any American kid in the 1970's probably knew this guy, especially due to this unforgettably creepy commercial:


My fascination with Mr. Yuk continued into the early 90's, as with this 'Toxic Life' tattoo I got circa '94:

Then, in 2000, I created a Mr. Yuk stencil and used it on this cheap, round metal table I found at a thrift store:

And I couldn't leave Target a few years later without this awesome T-shirt:


Then when I started working in vector graphics, I found myself again inspired by the little green guy. My very first upload to my deviantART gallery was one of the first Illustrator drawings I ever made, combining Mr. Yuk with a smiley face in a union of opposites:
happysick
Then, I came up with the idea to combine Mr. Yuk with another childhood idol of the seventies, Gene Simmons of KISS:
KISSter Yuk
And most recently, I combined Mr. Yuk with another icon to make this mutation of the deviantART mascot:
ToxicFella
For more about the stickers and other Mr. Yuk merchandise,
visit the offical website, www.MrYuk1.com