Mr. Yuk

A Mr. Yuk sticker

Mr. Yuk is a trademarked graphic image, created by the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and widely employed in the United States in labeling of substances that are poisonous if ingested.

Overview

Mr. Yuk was conceived in 1971 as the mascot for the poison control center at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The original design was created by Wendy (Courtney) Brown, a grade-school student at a school near Pittsburgh Children's Hospital. As part of a contest held by the poison center, Wendy drew the now-familiar face, along with a stick-figure body that was not included in the finished sticker design. Her design won, and Wendy was compensated for her time and talent with a prize: a tape recorder. Pittsburgh Children's Hospital now owns all exclusive rights to the Mr. Yuk design. It appears on small green stickers that can be affixed to any container of poisonous substance. The Mr. Yuk stickers are bold and obvious. Mr. Yuk does not include details of the poisonous attributes of the contents. The logo itself is intended to be enough to dissuade children from ingesting the poisons.

Over time, the use of Mr. Yuk stickers has gained a certain amount of nationwide usage in the United States.^{[citation needed]} Mr. Yuk stickers usually contain phone numbers of poison control centers that may give guidance if poisoning has occurred or is suspected. Usually, stickers may carry a national toll-free number (1-800-222-1222 in the United States). In some areas, local poison control centers and children's hospitals issue stickers with local numbers, under license. Such an example is in Pittsburgh, where the telephone number for the Poison Control Center is 681-6669.

A memorably scary public service announcement was also produced in the 1970s featuring the theme song, becoming a pop-culture icon unto itself for a number of generations.

Effectiveness

The Mr. Yuk symbol has been used as a replacement for the traditional skull-and-crossbones (a.k.a. Jolly Roger) warning label for poison. Since children may associate this symbol with pirates, the symbol may be less effective at deterring ingestion.^[1]

To evaluate the effectiveness of six projected symbols (skull-and-crossbones, red stop sign, and four others), tests were conducted at day care centers. Children in the program rated Mr. Yuk as the most unappealing product. By contrast, children rated the skull-and-crossbones to be the most appealing. ^[1]

However, at least two peer-reviewed medical studies (Fergusson 1982, Vernberg 1984) have suggested that Mr. Yuk stickers do not effectively keep children away from potential poisons and may even attract children.^[2] Specifically, Vernberg and colleagues note concerns for using the stickers to protect young children. Fergusson and colleagues state that “the method may be effective with older children or as an adjunct to an integrated poisoning prevention campaign.”^[3]

Use restrictions

Mr. Yuk and his graphic rendering are registered trademarks and service marks of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, and the rendering itself is additionally protected by copyright. This means that the name and graphic image cannot be used without a license from the owner—unlike the skull and crossbones symbol, which is in the public domain.

The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC gives out free sheets of Mr Yuk stickers if contacted by mail.^[4] However it is still important^{[citation needed]} that, unlike Federally created programs, private programs like this are eligible for copyright of materials they create.

Mr. Yuk in popular culture

• Mr. Yuk has taken on a cult status throughout the city of Pittsburgh among older residents, the best example being the Ultimate team at Carnegie Mellon, which affectionately goes by "Mr. Yuk" and uses a variety of discs adorned with the classic logo.

An image of Mr. Yuk is featured in the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 inside the lens cap of the WA2000 sniper rifle, as well as the Barrett .50 Caliber sniper rifle.

References

See also

• Globally Harmonized System

External links

• Mr. Yuk Information Page
• Mr. Yuk Public Service Announcement
• Short discussion of Fergusson and Vernberg papers
• American Association of Poison Control Centers
• Acceptable Labelling on Pesticide Containers