Mr. Yuk is mean, green and 35 years old

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

When you see him, stop and think: Do not smell, do not drink, do not touch, do not eat, or you will be sick.

Invented in Pittsburgh, Mr. Yuk -- the scowling neon green frowny face sticker with the catchy jingle -- turns 35 just in time for poison prevention week, which ends Saturday.

"I hope that it's done some good in terms of not only making people aware of accidental poisonings, but also keeping a kid or two from getting in trouble," said Richard Moriarty, a pediatrician and co-inventor of Mr. Yuk.

Created at the Pittsburgh Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 1971, Mr. Yuk's ugly mug replaced the traditional skull-and-crossbones that children in this area associated with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mr. Yuk came to symbolize the push to create a national poison center network and develop child-resistant caps for medications and poisonous household products. It is credited with decreasing accidental child poisoning deaths from three to five each year in Western Pennsylvania to fewer than five in the past 30 years.

"There aren't any special signs that you can recognize and say someone's been poisoned, because some poisons are very subtle and might take hours and hours to days before you see bad effects," said Ed Krenzelok, director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center. "If you have an index of suspicion that a poisoning has occurred, call the 1-800 number. There's no such thing as a dumb question."

Additional Information:

Prevent poisonings

If you suspect a poisoning, immediately call 1-800-222-1222. This will route your call to the nearest poison control center, where a trained professional will help you. For poison prevention tips and free Mr. Yuk stickers, visit www.mryuk1.com . Mr. Yuk stickers are also available at Giant Eagle pharmacies through March.