I wonder how many of us got into science and engineering because of this legend.

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redbanner1@reddit

Thanks to SNL, I cannot think of Mr Wizard without imagining a couple of horny confused teens discovering "science".

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reddit-and-regret-it@reddit

https://youtu.be/Nt_jB2MylHk?si=KA6gTp51ZSpjaNGS

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the_loaf_@reddit

does anyone remember the friction experiment with a baking sheet, oil, and a crayon? ive been looking unsuccessfully for the episode it’s in for years

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Haha, for sure. Loved Mr. Wizard when I was a very little kid. That and the one episode of Mr. Rogers where he breaks out a microscope and looks at some strands of hair. Blew my mind. For sure a big reason why I ended up an engineer.

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Kalel42@reddit

I don't think this show is the reason I'm an engineer, but it certainly didn't hurt.

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metachrysanthemum@reddit

Nah, it was the Scully effect for me.

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Odd-Outcome450@reddit

I enjoyed the show but never got into science.

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CatchAlarming6860@reddit

Me neither. I am a weird science/technology adjacent person. I think for me, I never had the self discipline to really study for hard science and my innate abilities only get me to like a C grade ability without full study.

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CokBlockinWinger@reddit

A couple of years ago I went through every episode and wrote down cool Stience experiments I could do with my kids.

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Romish1983@reddit

The OG YouTuber.

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ZeroKuhl@reddit

How many straws did you tape together?

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DizzyIzzy801@reddit

I had to explain the joke about him, the one from the original Matrix movie.

It was one of the first "oh, THAT makes me old?" moments for me.

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7billionidiots@reddit

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FewConversation569@reddit

Never could get into Bill Nye after watching this legend.

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FractalClock@reddit

Mr. Wizard berating kids

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smm022@reddit

🏆

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dannal13@reddit

Came here for this video. 😂

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MyNameCannotBeSpoken@reddit

gif

We're gonna need another Timmy!

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Anieya@reddit

I came here looking for this lol

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No-Raisin-6469@reddit

I thought that video was titled Mr Wizard is. a dick

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BusyArachnid8039@reddit

Today generation couldn’t handle this level of scrutiny.

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Grunblau@reddit

Didn’t seem so out of place at the time, tbh.

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_gonesurfing_@reddit

Yeah for real. OP never played rec league baseball. I was constantly berated by the adults on my own team.

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LarryGoldwater@reddit

I loved when he lost it

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plastigoop@reddit

Or johnny larue https://youtu.be/QjQFJ9syuoA?si=Z2psPgprUrWE-joI

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Obi_Wan_Benobi@reddit

lmao he wasn’t being mean just…firm.

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M_Me_Meteo@reddit

Seriously. All he did was tell the truth and not dote on kids for trying.

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SakaWreath@reddit

"Oh its ok that the experiment failed, we'll just make up the results and pretend everything is ok"

Or...

"Well that didn't work but we don't give up, try again and lets see if it works this time."

Teaching kids its ok to fail and to try again, resiliency. Or telling them in the meanest way possible that they suck and should never try.

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Impossible_Diet6992@reddit

I never realized how rude he was until I rewatched some episodes on YouTube recently. He was a jerk. Lol

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AnthrallicA@reddit

Some kids learned science watching this show, I just learned how to be a dick.

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throwaway1102293384@reddit

Average attitude towards children in the 80’s in TV and movies

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MattsNewAccount620@reddit

Omfg I remember watching each of these kids. Jesus my memory goes back further than I thought.

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maringue@reddit

As a professional scientist, this was important early training for my career.

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taleofbenji@reddit

Compulsory link lol

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BaD-princess5150@reddit

And that’s why I’ll always be a Bill Nye kid…..

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FoppyRETURNS@reddit

Legend.

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SirFlannel@reddit

I remember rewatching some of those a few years back and thought, "What a DICK!" He was really condescending to some of those kids. "You just don't know because you're stupid, Tommy."

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trustme1maDR@reddit

I would give most of the credit to 3-2-1 Contact, but Mr. W was a part of it as well

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ElmoZ71SS@reddit

I remember waking up early (5 am) to see this and a episode of lassie before going to the bus (at 6:15)

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PuzzleheadedAbies678@reddit

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El_Guapo_Supreme@reddit

I didn't realize it at the time, but Mr wizard was a litmus test when I was a kid. If another kid couldn't see how cool or interesting the ideas were, I knew they weren't the type of person I would get along with.

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AvocadoToastFailure@reddit

Interrogating potential friends: “What’s your favorite, 3, 2, 1, Contact or Mr. Wizard? Alright, ok… who’s your favorite member of the babysitter’s club?”

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dragon34@reddit

We can't be friends. You didn't mention square one

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megakungfu@reddit

all my homies love carmen sandiego

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dragon34@reddit

Well now the song is in my head thanks for that😛

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jx2002@reddit

Oh man square one was the shit

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Neon_Synchronicity@reddit

9,9,9 that crazy number 9. Add any number you can get, it all comes back to 9🎶🎶🎶

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GalaxyRedRanger@reddit

The stories are made up but the problems are real.

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ThePerfectSnare@reddit

Mathman! Mathman!

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saltporksuit@reddit

Stacey!

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Crans10@reddit

I didn’t have cable growing up. Some friends did. They had me over and gave me this test and I passed everytime. lol we loved the show.

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rob132@reddit

That's basically how I built out my friend group as well.

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Fair-Cookie@reddit

He was an absolute savage towards any kid that came on that show

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rojoshow13@reddit

I watched this show every day. And I saw it on Vudu(Fandango) free shows a few years ago and rewatched as many episodes as they had. And it was really funny because it wasn't a very rehearsed show. He would ask the kids questions and sometimes they wouldn't know the answer. And if they were really struggling to understand, you could tell he would get frustrated sometimes.

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danlost40@reddit

Wow

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Skipper0463@reddit

As a kid I thought science was incredible. The way it was painted made it sound like it could do anything, plus Hollywood makes science look like a cool and fun career. Then I discovered that I don’t have a scientific/mathematical/engineering brain and that’s kind of a deal breaker.

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knowone1313@reddit

I liked the show, however I didn't find the way the materials were presented to be exciting. I'm a fairly low energy person though and it takes a lot to get my energy up about something even if it's cool science.

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the_h0t_r0ck@reddit

He was a dick sometimes though. To children. He was teaching.

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Craig_E_W@reddit

Anyone else watch this before Nickelodeon picked it up?

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Juztaan@reddit

I used to wake up earlier than I needed to for school, just to watch Mr Wizard at 6am

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Blueberry_Mancakes@reddit

The only thing about this show I clearly remember is one of the girls said “Oh neat!” all the time.

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augustwest30@reddit

I got into engineering partly because of this show. I wrote an email to Don shortly before he passed away about how much his show meant to me. His son-in-law wrote back and said they read my letter to him and he smiled.

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quickstop_rstvideo@reddit (OP)

That is really cool!!

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Stock_Currency@reddit

We’re gonna need another Timmy.

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MetaVulture@reddit

I used to get up really early to watch Mr. Wizard and Flipper. I went to bed early just so I could get up and watch him. Favorite thing was when he explained dot matrix printers.

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Independent-Scale842@reddit

Bill Nye this, Bill Nye that. Bill Nye was a pale imitation and I’m tired of pretending he wasn’t.

Mr. Wizard is the GOAT.

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Poison_Ivy_Rorschach@reddit

I told my afternoon fifth graders about Mr. Wizard and they were not impressed.

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travturn@reddit

Quad drawing was the shit!

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andthrewaway1@reddit

I remember thinking how lame bill nye the science guy was (I didn't really know anything about him other than the name) and was like team Mr Wizard but for some reason I was the only one who watched it?

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Extra-Blueberry-4320@reddit

I loved Mr. Wizard!! Also 3-2-1 Contact and Square One. I remember asking my dad if we had any of the sterno fuel so I could make a hot air balloon. I set a lot of things on fire in the name of science as a kid. Funny enough…I’m now a chemist who develops fire-fighting foams. Go figure.

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evilmousse@reddit

there's a public domain BGM that i see in youtubes around now and then such as this one https://youtu.be/8GY4m022tgo?t=86

i could have sworn i remember it from back in the 80s/90s, it's very similar to the mr wizard music, but not quite the main theme. was it used in other segments or another contemporary show, can anyone remember?

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EmCoProductions@reddit

We just say Wizard

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No-Cardiologist472@reddit

Always blew my mind that this show could be both the most interesting and most boring thing id ever seen simultaneously

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TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit

The show makes more sense when you realize that it's a reworking of a TV show that goes back to 1951.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Herbert

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OskeyBug@reddit

And they come home crying because he scolded them for not knowing Bernoulli's principle

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betaray@reddit

Did someone say Bernoulli?

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plastigoop@reddit

The OG GOAT of all science guys

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AmethystBlitz3319@reddit

My parents didn’t let me watch Nickelodeon so I never watched this show. I guess that’s why I’m an accountant

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Randomcouchfire@reddit

He looks like Tommy Lee jones, am I the only one who sees it?

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jmlarios001@reddit

🙋🏼‍♂️

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GuitarNerd_@reddit

Anybody remember a show called Beyond 2000? I was also obsessed with that lol

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GuitarNerd_@reddit

I loved this show!!!

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unbanned_lol@reddit

Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye both.

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Skitzafranik@reddit

I know I did !! 😁 (BS Aeronautical Science)

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RealityOk9823@reddit

Finally! No disrespect to Bill Nye or Paul Zaloom but nobody ever mentions Mr. Wizard.

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oldgreen52@reddit

Watch it now , watch it !

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emc_lmt@reddit

LOVED Mr. Wizard

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Nadja77@reddit

The OG 🖤

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anynamesleft@reddit

For me it was Professor Proton.

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melanthius@reddit

I frequently credit Mr. Wizard and MacGyver for the reasons I ended up going to engineering school

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OskeyBug@reddit

I didn't get into science and engineering but I did waste a shitload of kitchen supplies and light a lot of things on fire because of this man.

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toothepastehombre@reddit

At my buddies house, we could catch the last half of Mr. Wizard and then the first half of GI Joe in the mornings waiting for the bus

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bitter_twin_farmer@reddit

I’m a chemistry professor who’s research involves creating chemistry theater presentations and accompanying curriculum for kids. I am 100a% the person I am today with the interests I have because of Mr Wizard.

https://youtu.be/H76joSzLXUQ?feature=shared

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kankelberri@reddit

100% absolutely me. I watch this every day. I became obsessed with science and technology. 40 years later... I am still obsessed. I can still remember vividly some of experiments. Such a wonderful show and I loved how sassy he would get with some of the kids on the show.

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mrlanke@reddit

Yes! He would get so old-man grumps with the kids. It was hilarious.

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Intelligent-Bed7284@reddit

Prepared us for grumpy college physics professors.

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MiniTab@reddit

The grain elevator explosion episode stuck with me for some reason. I thought it was amazing! Mr. Wizard and “Beyond 2000” were my favorite shows.

I went on to get an engineering degree, and absolutely love science and engineering to this day.

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kankelberri@reddit

Oh yeah. At that time for me it was Mr. Wizard, Beyond 2000, and Movie Magic.

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Smack_Dab_66@reddit

Classic show, even though he was kind of a dick.

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veringer@reddit

I hate to be that guy, but these are purposefully taken out of context for comedic value. Each segment sounds iffy in isolation and worse when juxtaposed next to similar clips. However, within the rhythm and tone of the show, he was clearly not being critical. If anything he was treating children more like adult peers, which (IMHO) was/is a lot more respectful than typical children's programming.

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SanSanSankyuTaiyosan@reddit

This is the second time this has been posted in the thread and I guess I’m also “kind of a dick” because I don’t see it.

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icy_sylph@reddit

I don’t either! Tell someone they are wrong when they are wrong. I guess the ‘kind of a dick’ club has another member

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megamanx4321@reddit

Between him and Doctor Who

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Dude_man79@reddit

He's the one teacher who kicked off that "ah haa!" moment in thousands of 80s kids turned into STEM pros.

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BlackestHerring@reddit

I loved him. He was so grumpy too. You can tell he wanted to call the kids dumbasses. Just waiting for his chance to crack a Hamms beer and a marlboro.

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miyagiVsato@reddit

The one thing I have burned into my brain from this show is one of the kids reacting to an experiment by saying “wow that was wicked!” Growing up in the south I had no idea why you would describe something as wicked. Turns out she was a kid from southie and her brothers shanked Mr. Wizard after that episode.

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Tall-Introduction414@reddit

I had this awesome book growing up: Mr Wizard's Supermarket Science

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attackresist@reddit

The experiment that lives in my head nearly 40 years later involved building a wire frame, stretching a plastic bag around it, and placing solid isopropyl (probs scooped out of a sterno can?) in a base to make a hot air balloon.

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Adman103@reddit

Yea, I remember watching that, and then building one- it totally worked!

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Grunblau@reddit

Slow napalm for the neighborhood firebug…

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MagNitz@reddit

One of my only memories of this program is when he had a kid pop a helium balloon with a fiery poker.

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Grunblau@reddit

I still use the trick where you balance a long stick on two fingers and move them together to find the center.

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Grunblau@reddit

I still use the trick where you balance a long stick on two fingers and move them together to find the center.

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RUk1dd1nGMe@reddit

I ended up in the data world, but I'm forever a tinkerer.

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JangusKhan@reddit

I was a huge and unabashed Mr. Wizard fan. I used to set an early alarm sometimes so I could watch on Nickelodeon at like 530 AM. I've got his book from the 50s or 60s. And I ended up working at a science museum for most of my adult life. I was a big Bill Nye fan, too, but Mr Wizard is the OG.

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Automatic-Limit-5307@reddit

When he’d ask kids to do something I got “dad asking his kid to hold the flashlight” vibes

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maringue@reddit

Me. I got into science because of Mr Wizard. Which was great, because his demeaning attitude towards the kids definitely prepared me for a career in science dealing with massive professor egos.

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lolret2005ftw@reddit

Reflecting back on it I’m going with Wile E Coyote and the Roadrunner.

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PatchworkGirl82@reddit

I always felt intimidated by him, and I wasn't surprised to learn more recently that he just really wasn't invested in teaching. The Nick Knacks series on YouTube has a great episode about him, but it's kind of depressing too.

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aliencardboard@reddit

I was definitely a Mr. Wizard and early Nickelodeon guy. A lot of people name Bill Nye and Beakman's World as first science influences, but Mr. Wizard was the first one I remembered. If you watch back now as an adult, he was a cranky old fella. 😂

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KahBhume@reddit

I think I just liked how Mr. Wizard felt like it could be shot in my neighborhood and didn't feel heavily produced. I never really got into Nye or Beakman the same way.

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Salads_and_Sun@reddit

I was just young enough to enjoy Beakman's World when it first came out but then it started to REALLY ANNOY ME and I remember wishing Mr. Wizard was on instead.

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TIRACS@reddit

I think about this show daily

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higglesworth@reddit

Mr wizard walked so bill nye could run

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PhysicsStock2247@reddit

I ended up with getting a PhD in chemistry. Mr. Wizard was my jam. I’d try to replicate his experiments at home if we had the materials to do it. I learned quick why adults say not to play with fire.

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Sean_theLeprachaun@reddit

I know im super sarcastic towards children because of him.

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thunderlips36@reddit

As a kid who was into science things, finding this show was so big for me. I absolutely loved the show and wanted to be on it so bad, even if he wouldn't have been super nice to me. I was super jealous of his workshop.

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MyNameCannotBeSpoken@reddit

gif

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V3gaMyst@reddit

Mr. Wizard is the reason half of us thought we could safely microwave a light bulb. The other half became actual engineers. I just became someone who yells "don't try this at home" at my own kids now. Full circle.

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nwbrown@reddit

He can kick Bill Nye's ass any day.

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GeetarEnthusiast85@reddit

Public Service Announcement:

There is an Official Mr. Wizard's World YouTube channel!

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FoppyRETURNS@reddit

gif

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drolgnir@reddit

The episode where he put powder on top of water to change the surface tension caused me to do the experiment myself. I was at the local public pool that was run down and pretty unclean, the surface of the water looked disgusting but familiar. So I tried Mr. Wizard's experiment and my hand came back out of the pool water dry. The filth and scum was really that bad. I'll never forget jumping into that soup of human DNA.

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