When people found out Dr. Richard Moriarty was the man behind the Mr. Yuk sticker, they would say how the sticker saved them from drinking something that could have killed them. Or that the 1970s commercial, where a narrator with a menacing laugh warns kids that “Mr. Yuk is mean
Mr. Yuk is still Mean.
Mr. Yuk is still Green.
Mr. Yuk still can be seen. He’s turning 50.
That fluorescent green face inside the circle means: Stay away.
Created by Dr. Richard Moriarty in Pittsburgh, Mr. Yuk’s menacing mug continues to be placed on the outside of bottles and other poisonous products.
His five decades of existence most likely will come up during National Poison Prevention Week, which is March 22-28.
There is no telling how many people Mr. Yuk might have saved.
“I hope I saved a lot of people,” said Moriarty, 81, a Lawrenceville native who is retired and living on Washington’s Landing. “I just wanted to help. I had a lot of people around me who supported this idea. I can’t believe it’s still rolling. That fascinates me.”