Please Don't Die

You can’t forget a slogan that’s been burned into your brain since elementary school, and that’s exactly what makes America’s safety mascots so fascinating. We’re Gen X, so our childhood came with a rotating cast of animated guardians, trench coat enforcers, and neon warning faces that somehow taught us real world habits before we even understood what “public health messaging” meant. 

We talk through the biggest icons and what they were designed to do: Smokey Bear and wildfire prevention, Woodsy Owl and anti pollution messaging, McGruff the Crime Dog and stranger danger era anxiety, Mr. Yuck and poison control stickers, plus Vince and Larry the Crash Test Dummies turning seatbelt safety into slapstick you still remember. We also get into the complicated side of PSA history, including how some campaigns oversimplified the problem or leaned too hard on fear, and why they still changed behavior anyway. 

Along the way, we keep it very us: a quick question of the week about favorite animals, an update on feeding the crows and earning our “crow army” trust, and a few real life moments from the mail route that remind us how much people rely on small kindness. Then we zoom out to the internet era where nostalgia, memes, and social media give these old characters a second life, even as modern dangers shift toward cybercrime, mental health, and climate change. 

If you grew up on classic PSAs, you’re going to have opinions. Listen, then subscribe, share the episode with a fellow Gen Xer, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Transcript

Sleepy Catch-Up And TV Finds

SPEAKER_04 0:31

Welcome to Like Whatever, a podcast for, by, and about Gen X. I'm Nicole, and this is my BFFF brother.

SPEAKER_03 0:41

Hello.

SPEAKER_04 0:44

So we're both super sleepy today.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 0:47

We are recording virtually again, so if it sounds a little funky, that's why, but I am still recovering from having the flu last week. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

And we're still energy, so yeah. And my dog has decided that right now is the perfect time for his old ass to play and his toy directly next to me.

SPEAKER_04 1:10

So and Heather's coming off two days after a holiday, which is always fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah. So it's been uh it's been a okay, stop. It's been a week. Yeah. I tried to find it.

SPEAKER_04 1:28

Stop feeling like I'm dying. We can actually get together face to face together. I know, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:35

So this week I'll probably run it raw again. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:40

So don't mess up. So if I go quiet for a second, that's fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

That's fine. That's fine. Uh other than that, I don't really have any I've just been watching uh really nothing. Big Bang Theory. I started again. Okay. I never watched it. I like it. Yeah. I skipped like the first two seasons. Well, the first season is I don't really need to watch the first season, but it's pretty good.

SPEAKER_04 2:16

I watched, um I've watched it twice all the way through now. Uh Zach Galafinakis. He has a show on uh Netflix called This Is a Gardening Show. Uh-huh. And it's only like six half-hour episodes. One's on tomatoes, one's on apples, one's on compost, one's on corn. I don't know, but it is like tears rolling down my face, funny. Huh. Because Zach Alfinakis is basically a child in a grown man's body. And part of the show is him sitting down with little kids. Each show has like a different age group. Oh. Those kids, man. Oh my god. It's so funny. But I learned a lot, and then he also goes and finds like an expert, but like for the tomato one, he went to this old hippie couple's little farm and all the girls are potatoes, and she's like created her own type of tomatoes, and so it's just like normal people like teaching what they learned from gardening.

SPEAKER_03 3:30

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_04 3:31

Yeah, and like the corn one was just an old farmer, like you'd see around here. Just cornfield, old man with his overalls and baseball cap and driving his tractor. So he's like cool. So him with Zach Alpinacis is funny too, because very, very different personalities.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

I can only imagine.

SPEAKER_04 3:56

But yeah, I highly recommend it if you're looking for something fun. Even if you don't garden, it's still very entertaining.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

You'll have to check it out. I just got I recently started watching TV again. Usually I just sit here and doom scroll until it's time for bed. But I was like, you know what? Let's branch out to the giant TV instead of tiny ones. Give my little eyeballs a break. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

And then I started The Burrows. Have you heard of that one?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

No.

SPEAKER_04 4:27

It's also on Netflix and it's produced by the um uh the brothers that make um Stranger Things. Uh-huh. And The Burroughs is um this like uh elderly living community. But obviously there's science fiction stuff to it because sure. Yeah, strange. But it's got Gina Davis in it, so that's um yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

Yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

It's not bad. It's not like like I watched the first like two and then I watched one another night, one another night, skip last night. So it's not anything that I'm like, oh my god, I have to watch it. It's pretty

Mail Route Drama And Kindness

SPEAKER_04 5:10

cool.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah. I did have I did have one of my old ladies, so I have like this one old lady who's like old lady, and uh so it's they're called hardships, you have to deliver their to their door. Um they have a community mailbox and and then so some of them can't get to the community mailbox then anyway, so I have to bring it to her door. She's always been a hardship since I started there, so um well she the girl that did this route before me would take her trash out for her and bring her trash back in and so I have picked up because what am I gonna do say fuck no? Oh so then she had uh there was last summer. Last spring, because she was going last spring, her mail, like so I would go and she's got like a little porch, and then I would put her mail on the porch. And I will and she it's like right outside her door, so she just grabs it. She doesn't have a mailbox. You're supposed to have a mailbox. She had one, but it's too far away from her anyway. So I put it right next to her door, and I go the next day, and the mail from the day before is still there, and I was like, hmm, that's not good, yeah. So I was like, well, you know, maybe she's I guess sometimes like people come and take her, I don't know where. So I was like, well, maybe maybe she's just or she forgot, or I don't know. So the next day I go and then there's two days there, and I was like, oh no, yeah. So I go to the office because I I stood there for a really long time, and I'm like, hmm, what to do, what to do, what to do. And so then I went to the office because it's like a little trailer park, and I went to the office and I was like, Hey, what do you know about so and so? And it was the office lady, two office ladies, and then the grounds crew, and we're all staying. I'm you know, you're you're the the one lady in the office used to work for the post office, so she's cool, and then the groundskeepers, I wave to them every day, and you know, blah blah blah. Um I was like, Hey, what do you know about her? And she's looking at me and she's like, um, I don't know. I was like, Do you know if she's away? I was like, Does she say anything? And she's like, No. And I was like, Oh, I said, Well, she's uh a hardship. I bring her mail to the door, and they're like, Yeah, and I was like, and there's three days worth of mail sitting there now. So now we're all just standing there staring at each other. Like, hmm. Yeah. So then we're just like, Yep, mm-hmm. And she the one the the lady is like, how many days? And I was like, three. And she was like, hmm. And the poor grounds, the two groundskeepers are like, do do do do, like looking all around. And finally the the head guy was like, All right, we'll go over there. And I was like, Yeah, I was like, Okay, bye. So I left because now it's their problem. So I haven't I hadn't heard anything. So like two or three days later, I go back to the office and I was like, hey, whatever happened with Mrs. So-and-so, and she was like, Oh shit, I've been meaning to come over and tell you she had an accident, she fell, she went to the hospital, and she's in uh a rehab now. And she said that she's gonna uh call you, call the post office and let them know when she's back. And I was like, Oh, okay, good. And she was like, and then she told me how wonderful you are for checking on her. And I was like, Well, I mean, I didn't want her to be in there dead or hurt or what, you know, I don't so she she was gone a while. And then when she came back, she met me at the door with a little walker and her oxygen tank, and she is like, Hey, and I was like, Hey, welcome back, you scared me, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And she's like, Yeah, well, I can't really get to the door anymore. Is there any way you can bring the mail in? This is uh we're supposed to be a hard no on that one. Like, we're not allowed in people's houses, it's it's a hard no. But what am I supposed to say?

SPEAKER_03 9:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

No. So I was like, okay, but I can tell you right now that my sub, when he works, will not be able to do that. He's gonna have to leave it on the portion. And she was like, Well, I mean, I guess that'll be okay. And because she has like a lady that comes by like three times a week. I was like, I mean, I can't, I said, I cannot tell him to come in here. First of all, he's not gonna feel comfortable. Second of all, I can't ask him to do that. And she's like, No, you're right, okay. So now Arita, I have to knock on her door, and then if she answers me, I have to I'll have to um take it in. Well, like a couple weeks ago, I knocked, there's no answer, which is fine because sometimes she's got doctor's appointments and she doesn't have a car anymore, so I never know if she's actually there or not. So I leave it and I come back the next day. Mail's still there, and I was like, motherfucker. So I was like, So I go back up to the front and I was doing something, and a lady comes by and she was like, Hey, I just wanted to let you know that Mrs. So-and-so is back in the hospital, and I was like, Okay, like somebody leave me a fucking note at some point. Uh so today, well yesterday, she's when I came in, she was like, Have you seen the trash man yet? And I was like, No, I haven't, but it's after a holiday, so yeah. I was like, No, but she's like, You haven't seen them in here at all? And I was like, No, and they're hard to miss. So, no, I don't think they're coming today. And she was like, Okay. So today I came and I saw the trashman in there, so I was like, So I go and I open her trash bin. Of course, it's empty, so I drag it to the house. I go in, I knock on the door, and she was like, You're just so wonderful. I appreciate you so much. You're just such a kind, kind person. Don't you ever change? And I was like, Okay, I gotta go. Please don't call my boss and tell her I do all this for you because this is a hard no. I don't think my boss would care. But yeah. So that was my old lady journey today. She keeps you busy. She does keep me busy. She's and she like this is terrible to say, but her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Like she's got uh she just but what are you gonna do? She's 108. Well, that she so she's gotta be in her 70s, probably eighties. And one day she's like, um, I don't get much mail. Sometimes I get a card from my mother, and I was like, Card from your mother. Wait, what? Card from Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Like, we don't deliver from heaven. Wow, okay, but then her mom died. I was like, Well, yeah. I mean, what was she 118 years old? I mean, for fuck's sake. At least. So that's my old lady. But you know, it's one of those things that I mean, yeah, it makes you feel kind of good about yourself because you're like, well, this old lady loves it. Nobody else loves me. This old lady does. And like, I'm the only person she talks to really all day. And I have a couple other ones that will just talk your head off the whole time, and you're like, I got, I have okay. I have I've met a way a lot of things to do today. But yes. But that's the fun of being a mail carrier.

SPEAKER_04 13:32

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Yeah, you have to be nice to people, and it's so Yeah. Ow spider just crawled under my laptop.

SPEAKER_03 13:42

Don't kill it. There he is. Oh spider. Jump on my blanket. Oh yeah. Just grab it. Man. All right, let's get this party started. Okay.

Show Links And Favorite Animals

SPEAKER_03 14:16

Coughing. She's coughing.

SPEAKER_04 14:19

All right, so before we get started, like share rate review. Please. Yes. Uh, we have a website at like whateverpod.com. We are on the email, um, like whateverpod at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

All right, good deal. Yep. So it's it's oh wait, we forgot the question.

SPEAKER_04 14:49

Oh, okay. The question for this week is what is your favorite animal of all time and why?

SPEAKER_03 14:59

Hmm. Let me go first. Yeah. Oh, I feel like something's crawled on me.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

It's not. So you're saying it's not a spider? Your favorite animal is not a spider.

SPEAKER_04 15:12

I mean, it's no, it's not. Um capibera is my all-time favorite animal. I have seen them in real life at the zoo, and I have done a lot of research on them. And you can have one as a pet. It is legal to have one as a pet. Um, but there's a lot of work that goes into it. So one of those things, maybe when I retire, I'll get a pet Capibera. Because you get like a guinea pig. And you can get in the pool with them, and they love it.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Why don't you get it? Why don't you get a guinea pig? It's just a smaller version. I've had guinea pigs. I want a green pig.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

I want one I can like snuggle with.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 15:51

Yeah. And what made me think of it is my friend got me guinea um Cappy Bear earrings. Oh, cute.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Um well I've never met one in real life, but I think my favorite animal of all time. Oh, that's a really hard one.

SPEAKER_04 16:16

I know. I can think of like five for you off the top of my head.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Yeah, I know, right? I like sharks. Like I'm a big fan of the Great White.

SPEAKER_03 16:25

Um I like dogs a lot. But I'm gonna have to go with a T-Rex. I like it.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

I like it. T-Rex. And the modern equivalent, I keep in a cage over in the corner. So oh, she is a T-Rex today. She is so bad today, I couldn't even Oh gosh. Yeah, she is not well behaved today at all.

SPEAKER_04 16:55

Yeah, that's why she's not out right now. Like ravens.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

I like ravens, yeah. Oh, speaking of ravens, their little cousin, the crow. So you know I've been I'm asking my crow army.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Well, today I was I went, so my routine is usually I take the dog out, come back in, grab the food, and get dressed and get ready to go to work. And then I take the food out on my way to work. And I put I put it in the thing, in the little dish I have out there. So today I heard them out there, and I was like, oh shit, I must be running behind because they're ready for their food. And so I opened the door and there was one on the deck, and my deck is maybe like four feet wide, maybe. And it was sitting and it didn't move when I opened the door, it just stood there. And I said, Well, hello there, I said, Well, hello there, beautiful bird. And then I placed the food in there, and then I I went down the steps.

SPEAKER_04 17:56

And he stayed there the whole time.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

He stayed there the whole time.

SPEAKER_03 18:00

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

I know.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

We're friends now. We're body. I know, me too. I've been waiting.

SPEAKER_04 18:10

I used to find friends at my other house. And they would get when they were hungry, because I do it like in the evening. And they would circle or sit in the trees and yell at me. And I'd yell back be like, okay, I know. Hold on.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

So I'm excited. I gotta find some. It's I have to find some shiny stuff to put out there because they they want to trade you shiny stuff. So I have to find some I have to find some shiny stuff to put out there.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

Yep. Okay.

Why Safety Mascots Hit So Hard

SPEAKER_01 18:44

So let's fuck around and find out about safety mascots. Ooh. This is gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_04 18:58

Love it. Do you have Mr. Yuck on there? Yeah. Yes. All right, ready. He's my all-time favorite safety mascot.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

I decided I think I want to get a Mr. Yuck tattoo.

SPEAKER_04 19:12

Ooh, I love that idea. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

All right. Um, so America has always loved its symbols, the Eagle, the Flag, and Uncle Sam. But in the second half of the 20th century, a new kind of symbol emerged. Stranger, more colorful, colorful, and far more personal. They weren't carved in marble or printed on currency. They were printed on posters, broadcasts on television, and handed out in elementary school cafeterias. They were mascots, guardians of safety, morality, and public responsibility. They taught us to buckle up, to avoid strangers, to protect the forests, to keep our planet clean, and to stay away from poisons under the sink. They were everywhere, and yet their stories have rarely been told. Of course, we're going to start with the one and only Smokey the Bear. Yeah. Classic. Yeah. He was born not from Whimsy, but from war. In 1944, as World War II raged overseas, the United States faced a domestic threat. Forest fires. With so many firefighters deployed, the Forest Service needed a new strategy. One that can mobilize the public. They turned to advertising, and advertising turned to a bear. Smokey's earliest posters were stark and serious, a towering bear in a ranger hat, pointing directly at the viewer. His message was simple, powerful, and unforgettable. Only you can prevent forest fires. It was very scary for me. Because I thought I was the only one. That was a large responsibility for one person. And I don't even live in near any forests. So well, how was I gonna do that? There's no trees here. Um this was no cartoon sidekick. Smokey was a moral authority, a stern, paternal figure who spoke with the weight of responsibility. But Smokey's legend grew even larger in 1950 when a real bear cub survived a devastating blaze in New Mexico. Burned, frightened, and clinging to a charred tree, the cub was rescued by firefighters. He became the living embodiment of Smokey's message, a symbol of resilience and vulnerability. America embraced him, children wrote letters, schools held smokey assemblies, merchandise exploded. Smokey became the first PSA celebrity, a national icon with a mission that transcended generations. For decades, Smokey's voice echoed across radio, television, and classrooms. He didn't change much because he didn't need to. He was so timeless. A guardian carved into the American consciousness, but behind the scenes, Smokey creator Smokey's creators wrestled with a challenge. How do you keep a nineteen forties mascot relevant in a world that changed every decade? The answer would come later in the digital age, but for now, Smokey stood alone, the first and greatest of the guardians.

Smokey Bear And Woodsy Owl

SPEAKER_01 22:11

By the late 60s, America was waking up to a new crisis. Pollution. Yeah. Rivers caught fire, cities choked on smog, trash piled up in parks and streets. The environmental movement was rising and it needed a mascot. So in 1970, the U.S. Forest Service introduced Woodsy the Owl. Owl. A cheerful wide-eyed bird with a feathered cap and a message that would become a cultural touchstone. Give a hoot, don't pollute. I didn't remember Woodsie until I was doing this, and I was like, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:55

How I remember him. I'm gonna start using give a hoot, don't pollute again.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Give a hoot, don't pollute.

SPEAKER_04 23:00

I'm bringing it back.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Okay. Woodsie was everything Smokey wasn't. Where Smokey was stern, Woodsey was friendly, Woodsey encouraged instead of warned, and he invited instead of commanded. He was designed for a new generation, one that questioned authority, embraced nature, and believed in collective action. Woodsy's PSAs were bright, musical, and optimistic, much like us as a gen just kidding. He appeared in classrooms, on posters and coloring books, and even in environmental parades. He taught recycling before recycling bins were common. He taught conservation before climate change was a household term, but Woodsy's journey wasn't about turbulence. In the 90s, he underwent a redesign, a sleeker, more modern, less whimsical. Some loved it, others felt something had been lost. The gentle charm that made Woodsey feel like a friend. Still, Woodsy endured. His message remained relevant, perhaps more than ever, and he became a symbol not just of environmentalism, but of the power of positivity in public messaging.

SPEAKER_03 24:07

Yay, Woodsy.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Woodsy.

McGruff, Mr Yuck, Crash Dummies

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Now here, this one is my favorite. The 80s were a decade of anxiety. Crime rates rose, neighborhoods felt unsafe. Parents worried about drugs, gangs, and strangers. I know who it is. America needed a protector, someone who could speak to children about danger without sugarcoating it. Enter McGruff the crime dog. Yep. This okay, so this is the whole reason that I decided to do this as an episode. Because one of my podcasts, they bring um a McGruff the crime dog puppet on all their tour dates because the one girl got one on eBay, and so they have to bring it everywhere. And he hit he he make she makes it so he hits on the other co-host the whole time, and he's very dirty, and it's fucking hilarious. It's just very hilarious. So I was like, oh McGruff. Yeah. And then when I started, I was like, well, you can't do McGruff without Smoky.

SPEAKER_03 25:21

Mm-hmm. So there you have there you have it.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

Um created in 1980, McGruff was like unlike any mascot before him. He wore a trench coat, he spoke in a gravelly, world weary voice. He walked through alleys and city streets like a detective from a noir film. Yep. His message was blunt. Take a bite out of crime. McGruff's PSAs tackled everything burglary, drugs, kidnapping, vandalism, bullying, even cybercrime decades before it became mainstream. He wasn't cute and he wasn't cuddly, but he was tough, a dog who had seen things. Children trusted him, adults respected him. Schools welcomed him. He became a fixture of assemblies, state fairs, or no, safety fairs, and community events. But as the nineties arrived, McGruff's world grew darker. The PSAs became more yes, the PSAs became more intense, sometimes frightening. Critics argued they scared children. Supporters argued they prepared them. I thought so. McGruff even released a music album. A surreal collection of anti-drug songs delivered in his signature growl. It was bizarre, earnest, and unforgettable. Through it all, McGruff remained a symbol of vigilance, a detective patrolling the collective imagination of a nation.

SPEAKER_04 26:56

I'm sure he came to my school.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

I am pretty sure he came to my school too. But he was also the one. Remember when I was telling you about how we had to go get our fingerprints taken at McDonald's?

SPEAKER_04 27:06

At McDonald's, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Yeah. But he was there. McGruff was there. I met I met McGruff for reels. No wonder he's your favorite. I know. I love him. I think it's it's the trench coat for me. Like he means business.

SPEAKER_04 27:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Yeah.

unknown 27:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Or I've just always always been interested in the crime and not so much the environmental issues, so you know. Maybe that says a lot about me. Maybe.

SPEAKER_03 27:41

Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

But not all mascots were meant to be loved. Some were meant to repel, and none repelled us quite like Mr. Yuck.

SPEAKER_04 27:54

Created created me, Mr. Yuck is green. You remember that song?

SPEAKER_01 28:01

I do. I was I'm telling you, I'm going to get a Mr. Yuck tattoo. Created in 1971 by the Pittsburgh Poison Center, Mr. Yuck was designed to be everything children disliked. Neon green, scowling, tongue out, radiating disgust. He wasn't a friend. He wasn't a guide. He was a warning. A toxic symbol for toxin substances. Now I remember when we got the stickers. I don't know where we got the stickers from. I don't know if they gave them out of school or whatever. And I put them motherfuckers everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

They were everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 28:41

Yeah, they were. Um I don't know. Maybe they came in the mail.

SPEAKER_04 28:52

You probably could yeah, you probably could say the point of one was to put them on things that you didn't want your kids to. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

Parents plastered Mr. Yuck stinger stickers on cabinets, cleaning supplies, and medicine bottles. Children learned quickly, if you see that face, stay away. But Mr. Yuck became something more, a cultural phenomenon. King kids collected the stickers, teenagers wore them ironically. Punk bands adopted the logo. Mr. Yuck became a symbol of rebellion even as he tried to prevent it. Some argued he was too scary. Others say he wasn't scary enough, but no one forgot him.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

He's the best. He is the best.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

By the early 1980s, America faced a silent epidemic. Car accidents were one of the leading causes of death. Seatbelt use hovered around 14%, shockingly low. People simply didn't buckle up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration needed a message that would break through the noise. They needed something bold, funny, and unforgettable. Do you remember what they introduced?

SPEAKER_03 30:05

I can't picture anything.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Vince and Larry, the crash desk dummies.

SPEAKER_04 30:14

Oh shit, yes, of course.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Of course. They were born in 1985. Okay. They were clumsy, loud, and endlessly destructive. Every PSA ended the same way with a spectacular crash, a cloud of debris, and the iconic line, you could learn a lot from a dummy. The humor was intentional and the chaos was calculated. The message was unmistakable. Vince and Larry became instant celebrities. They appeared on talk shows, they starred in comic books, action figures, lunchboxes, and even a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon.

SPEAKER_04 30:53

But behind a slapstick was a then they became then it became the name of a really shitty band in the 90s.

SPEAKER_02 31:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Um behind the slapstick was a serious mission, and it worked. Seatbelt used skyrocketed. Lives were saved, tens of thousands of them. Yet fame is fleeting, and by the late 90s, new campaigns replaced them. Airbags became standard, crash chest technology evolved, and Vincent Larry retired. Their mission accomplished, but their legacy remains. Not in awards or accolades, but in the millions of people who buckle up without thinking because two dummies taught them to. I'm gonna have to say I am not one of those people because, and hear me out. I know. I know you I know you know. I think that seatbelt laws are against my constitutional right to my life and liberty, and I should be allowed to throw my life and my liberty through the windshield if I want. And it is not hurting anybody else because you're not gonna make it all the way through the windshield to hurt somebody else, and even if you do make it all the way, you'll have slowed down so tremendously that you're not gonna hurt anybody else. So I do wear my seatbelt more often because I have to at work because I can get fired if I don't, which again is against my constitutional right, but it is also definitely tattle on you if they uh saw it. Well, because we our seat belts are bright ass orange and I wear a lot of black, so you can you can't miss it. And yes, we have a lot of former postal workers that live in our town, and they they would rat me out.

SPEAKER_03 32:56

They're the tattletales. Huh? They're the t tattletales.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

Yeah, the old employees. Oh, yeah. Yeah, we get we get people tattletaling on us all the time that are former postmasters and because because we have so many people from DC and New York here, I I'm telling you, no joke, I probably have twenty, maybe even thirty retired postal employees on my route. Yeah, I know I have yeah, I have one that's uh retired postal inspector. I have at least two postmasters. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 33:39

Yeah. And they will rat your ass out 100%. Crazy. Okay.

Reading A 1985 Diary Entry

SPEAKER_03 33:50

All right, let's do your diary.

SPEAKER_04 33:57

All right. So we jumped like way ahead now. We're um so the last time was Christmas because I just had the Christmas party. Now it's April 15th.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

I feel like we're getting close to I feel like we're getting close to the end of this, aren't we?

SPEAKER_03 34:13

No. Oh really?

unknown 34:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 34:18

No.

SPEAKER_04 34:19

Alright, so April 14th, 1985. Dear Diary. That's the first time I've heard that. Today I am filling out my plans with Sammy. Sammy was my friend back then.

SPEAKER_03 34:35

We plan on living together to the future. Go ahead. Oh, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01 34:41

Well was Sammy the same Sammy that I know?

SPEAKER_03 34:44

Yes.

unknown 34:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 34:46

I think so. Yeah. With the brother? Okay. Yes. All right.

SPEAKER_04 34:54

Alright, more future plans. Let's see how this goes. We plan on living together in the state of wherever my or her parents live.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

That that didn't work out, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 35:13

Yeah. After we get married, we are going to move away from each other.

SPEAKER_03 35:21

That didn't work out. We might be next door neighbors. No. We plan to have two kids each. Nope. Nope. Um.

SPEAKER_04 35:32

One boy and one girl, or two girls. Apparently definitely not a boy mom.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Um we plan to have a pet cat. Yep. Um. And oh, a boy and a girl. And I want to mate them and give Sammy a kitten. Alright.

SPEAKER_04 36:00

Um and then I list some cats that we liked, and we were obviously looking in like a fancy cat book because we have all these fancy name cats on here.

SPEAKER_03 36:11

Right.

SPEAKER_04 36:12

Like Persian. Yeah. I'll s I'll spare you the uh the details of that.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

Just look up fancy cats.

SPEAKER_04 36:25

Sammy wants a Samoya dog, and so do I.

SPEAKER_03 36:30

Uh Sammy wants a husky too. And she wants a horse. Uh-huh. Um then I name a bunch of horses that she wants. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 36:43

Um yeah, and that was the end of the entry. Oh. It's just a list of different kinds of animals. I think I uh yeah, I think I got bored with that uh entry for a minute there. Yeah, you were like, uh horses, climbs tales.

SPEAKER_04 37:07

And just a little sneak peek at next week. Um, we have a love letter. Oh yep. So it's just a short little entry, but then there is a love letter, which I have not opened, and I won't open it until next week.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

I was just gonna ask if you had opened it. I would have I would have had it. Nope. Nope, nope, nope.

SPEAKER_04 37:32

Well, all I know is it's for Philip and I love him. Oh, Philip.

SPEAKER_03 37:40

Oh, I can't wait to read my 12-year-old me love letter.

SPEAKER_01 37:48

Oh, Philip, you're in for it. You do not want to miss that. All right, let's get back to our mascots.

Deep Cut Mascots Get Weird

SPEAKER_01 38:02

Okay. So for every Smoky, McGruff, or Woodsy, there are a dozen more. Mascots who flickered briefly across the screen, visited a handful of schools, or appeared in a single PSA before vanishing into the archives. They were strange, unforgettable, even if most people did forget them. So I'm gonna go through and give you some that uh some I had heard of, and some I have not. Some are regional. Um, this this part was like really fun because I was like, what in the actual fuck are you talking about?

SPEAKER_04 38:42

Yeah, I'm super excited for this. I'm curious to see how many we know.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

There was Louie the lightning bug glowing, yelling, yellow, and wearing sunglasses, teaching children not to climb power poles or stick metal objects into outlets. His southern jaw made danger sound almost friendly. And there's a cat walking behind me.

SPEAKER_04 39:07

I feel like like what all right, so I'm wondering, was there an issue with children sticking metal things into sockets? Because if they weren't thinking of it, but then you brought a mascot out that said, Don't do that. Don't do that. It would have gone up exponentially, the amount of kids sticking metal things into plugs.

SPEAKER_01 39:29

I agree. Um but maybe it was an issue back then. Well, it must have been because then they came out with a little safety plug things that you put into your outlets so that your kids couldn't stick things in there. See, we were just told don't fucking put things in there and left to our own. Exactly to not do it. But you know, your your kids, we had to plug special things in. Well, yeah.

unknown 39:58

That's fair.

SPEAKER_04 40:02

My daughter who tripped down three steps and now is in a boot and doesn't know what's she might have to have surgery.

SPEAKER_01 40:11

That's what the doctor she she needs she needs to have a plug thing where she can't stick electric uh metal objects into.

SPEAKER_04 40:19

She has her own home. Like maybe I should go there and do that.

SPEAKER_01 40:25

You you should. Um, here's a good one. There was Zappy, the safety squirrel, a regional mascot who warned children about down power lines, a squirrel teaching kids not to do what squirrels do. Oh apparently there must have been a real problem with children climbing power poles, electrical poles, power lines.

SPEAKER_04 40:53

Well, that was that sounds like something we would have done. I wouldn't. But here our generation.

SPEAKER_01 41:01

Oh, yeah. Well, here we had this weird thing, um, and I haven't seen them do it, and I don't so I don't know what the difference between then and now is. Like, I don't know if it's new power line technology or what, because the lines are I mean, they buried them, but not the ones that anyway. Stay used to after the winter, because living directly next to the Atlantic Ocean, the winter you get wind that comes off the ocean the whole time and it blows salt literally everywhere. Like you can't have a car here without it rusting in 10 years. So um, but they used to go, the fire company in the spring would go and drive down the side of the highway and spray all the salt off of the lines because salt would build up and the power would go out because it would arc and stuff. So they used to do it like it was probably more than just spring. Like in the middle of the winter, they'd do it too, I guess after a big storm or whatever. Um I I have never seen them do it again since I was a little kid. And I even thought maybe I imagined that, but my mom said no, they did it. So I don't know why they did it then and not now.

SPEAKER_03 42:21

Better power lines.

SPEAKER_01 42:25

I get I I don't know if they code it better be better. I don't know. Yeah. Or maybe they were just bored then and just needed something to do with the fire engine. And now the fire engine has a lot to do. So maybe that's probably more likely. Yes, they needed something to do. Um then there was Electro Eddie, a short-lived character who explained circuit breakers with the enthusiasm of a game show host. Oh. Um so apparently we had a lot of issues with um electricity. We didn't know how to handle ourselves around. We could not handle the electricity. It's too much. There was Firepup, a Dalmatian in a firefighter's helmet, who toured elementary schools with a plastic fire truck and a message of escape plans and smoke alarms. I remember that one. You probably remember him as Sparky, the fire dog, because there was fire pup and then there was Sparky, the fire dog. Um he taught generations of children to stop drop and roll. Yes, but I also remember during fire safety prevention month or whatever it is, they would I took the escape plan very seriously because I have a real fear of fire because we had a wood stove and And I swear I thought it was gonna burn the house down. So I was petrified of fire.

unknown 44:06

That's funny.

SPEAKER_04 44:09

Did you work the fire? Did you work the wood stove?

SPEAKER_01 44:12

Yes. Oh. So I know it can't just roll out. I get it.

SPEAKER_04 44:17

No, no, no, I know, but I was largely responsible for keeping it going and starting it in the morning. So I was wondering if that's why I wasn't scared of it because I worked with it.

SPEAKER_01 44:30

It's a totally irrational fear. No, it's fine. That's that's fine. I just I was afraid of fire. And so um I insisted that we had a fire safety plant. Now, here's the one issue. I sleep the sleep of the dead. The fire alarm was literally four inches from my door, my bedroom door. Yep. And it it went off multiple times growing up, and I never heard it once. Not every one time did it wake me up. To the point where my mom was absolutely concerned that if something were to happen, I was gonna die. Because um, yeah, the fire was gonna I was I wasn't here. Anyway. The I had the safety plan was my sister had a window that was right on the deck.

SPEAKER_02 45:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 45:35

So my window you had like it was like probably a story and a half fall. Yeah, dog is snoring. I hear him. And sorry everybody was. Yes. So on my side, you couldn't just fall, you just fall and to your death. Probably not to your death, but there was a tree there, but it wasn't tall enough anyway, and it was a pine tree. Anyway, it was no good. The tree was no good, no help. So my sister's room was right around so I then decided that our route was, and I know that the folks out there don't know me, but you know me, and you know how detailed plans I like to make. And so it was a very thorough escape plan where we would go out her window onto the deck and then to the neighbor's house.

SPEAKER_03 46:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:30

And then I would make us practice it all the time. Mostly because I just wanted to climb out her window. And so my mom would be watching TV in the room next to the deck, and suddenly she would see the two of us come flying out the window, and she'd be like, Please stop climbing out the window. I'm like, We're practicing skate plan.

SPEAKER_04 46:55

And she's like, Sure you are, sure. So I like how your dad gave your sister the room that she could survive all the way you know, it's a pattern, really, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 47:07

I know, it shows up everywhere.

SPEAKER_04 47:09

And I remember the window in your room because that's a window we used to smoke out of.

SPEAKER_01 47:14

Smoke out of light. Mm-hmm. Because the tree blocked.

SPEAKER_04 47:17

I can't remember the where was your parents' room? Was there an upstairs?

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Yeah, we had upstairs.

SPEAKER_04 47:22

Oh, there wasn't. Was there a bathroom right at the top of the steps?

SPEAKER_01 47:24

Uh-huh. Yep. That was their bathroom. And there was a their their bedroom was up on one side, and then there's there was like a she turned it into an office, but it was like a spare bedroom office kind of because I remember like the whole layout of the first floor.

SPEAKER_04 47:38

Yeah. We never went upstairs.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

We weren't allowed upstairs unless we knocked because they smoked a lot of pot. I know.

unknown 47:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:46

And used to find seeds in the sink.

SPEAKER_04 47:49

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

So we we weren't allowed upstairs unless we were told okay. Yeah. Oh. So there was Sniffy the smoke detector, a talking alarm with googly eyes, who beeped loudly whenever danger approached or whenever his batteries were low. I don't know that one. There was the fire safety clown brigade. A real troop of that. I remember them. A real troop of firefighters who dressed as clowns to teach fire prevention.

SPEAKER_03 48:25

A concept both loved and feared. Yeah. Um there we go. Uh uh.

SPEAKER_01 48:36

There was Splash, the water safety otter, who reminded children I don't remember that. Um to remind children to wear life jackets and never swim alone. Okay. Which which you would think, I would know that because I lived at the beach, but I I've never heard of him. There was Bobber, the water safety dog, a Labrador mascot of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who taught boating safety with a wagging tail. You would think I would remember that one, but I did not. There was Wally the Water Drop, a cheerful droplet who warned about drowning hazards, a strange paradox of a water mascot warning about water. There was um there was Officer Friendly, a police outreach mascot who visited classrooms with coloring books and badge stickers.

SPEAKER_03 49:40

I mean I remember getting police stuff.

unknown 49:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:43

I don't remember getting that.

SPEAKER_01 49:47

There was this go ahead. No, you got it. There was the safety elephant, a can a Canadian import who taught children to look both ways before crossing the street.

SPEAKER_03 49:59

That's a big one.

SPEAKER_01 50:01

Well, you know, I don't really associate elephants with Canada, but I don't know. Or crossing the street. Or crossing the street, yeah. I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 50:13

There was I don't think there are too many elephants in Canada.

SPEAKER_01 50:17

No, they're not native. No. There was the block parent house symbol, a red and white sign that told children which homes were safe. A mascot without a face, but with a power of a message. I don't remember that either.

SPEAKER_04 50:33

So there were somebody would put a sticker on their house so that a kid knew if they were in trouble they could go there.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:39

What would stop a pedophile from putting one of those stickers?

SPEAKER_01 50:42

Absolutely nothing would stop them.

SPEAKER_04 50:45

Because it sounds like a lore to me.

SPEAKER_01 50:48

I mean I mean in my neighborhood there was only like four people who lived here all year long.

SPEAKER_03 50:55

So like pretty much all of them were safe houses, I guess. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:04

Um, there was the McGruff Mobile, a literal car with McGruff's face on the hood, a rolling PSA that patrolled neighborhoods like a cartoon vigilante. There was Recycle Rex, a claymation dinosaur who taught children about recycling in the 90s, a prehistor prehistoric creature teaching modern sustainability.

SPEAKER_03 51:24

Did you do you remember that one?

SPEAKER_01 51:26

I do remember that one.

SPEAKER_03 51:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:30

There was Captain Cleanup, a superhero with a broom for a weapon, who fought litter with the power of enthusiasm. There was uh the crying Indian.

SPEAKER_04 51:44

Next time somebody asks me what I want my superpower to be, I'm gonna say enthusiasm.

SPEAKER_01 51:49

Right.

SPEAKER_04 51:52

I just want to get excited about anything. Right?

SPEAKER_01 51:57

There was the crying Indian, a controversial figure whose single tier became an environmental symbol, and whose story was far more complicated than the PSA revealed. Um also he was Italian and not Native American. So yeah, that was a sounds like one of those w well-intentioned things that went horribly wrong. It was a different time.

SPEAKER_04 52:26

Um I get it, but yeah, maybe not.

unknown 52:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

Yeah. There was the litter bug, a villainous insect who represented pollution. I remember the litter bug. What did it look like?

SPEAKER_03 52:41

Um, a bug. It was green.

SPEAKER_01 52:45

It was a green bug. I don't know if I remember that one. It was like a uh I want to say it was like uh you know the game cootie? Mm-hmm. Like kind of like a cootie.

SPEAKER_04 52:57

Oh okay.

SPEAKER_01 52:58

But green with like a lot of legs. I know. You have cooties. I know. There was Brush Along Gang, a group of animated toothbrush who sang about dental hygiene.

SPEAKER_04 53:10

I think I remember that one.

SPEAKER_01 53:12

Yeah. There was the germ busters, a team of cartoon antibodies who fought off colds and flew with capes and catchphrases. Mm-hmm. This one's this one, this one's good. This one I don't remember, but it was this this I need to look this one up. There was the Radon Ranger, a masked cowboy who warned homeowners about invisible radioactive gas. So look out for radon. There was the nutrition gnome, a short-lived mascot who taught children about food groups. There was Buckle Bear, a seatbelt themed bear who hugged children and reminded them to click before they ride. Did you say hugged children? It did hug children. Okay. There was Sammy the Stoplight, a walking traffic signal who taught crosswalk safety, and whose costume weighed nearly 40 pounds. Holy moly. Mm-hmm. There was the Safety Cone Trio, three dancing traffic cones who appeared in a handful of regional PSAs before vanishing into obscurity. There was the railroad raccoon who warned children never to play near train tracks. I grew up playing on train tracks.

SPEAKER_04 54:33

Well dad's like literally train tracks, a small patch of grass, a small road, and then our front yard lake. And we played on those tracks all the time.

SPEAKER_01 54:46

Well, you needed a railroad raccoon to tell you that you should not have been doing that. Whatever, it was fun. There was Hazard Hank, a hard hat wearing mascot, who taught factory safety.

SPEAKER_04 55:01

I hope.

SPEAKER_01 55:07

You're not wrong. There was the PPP, the PPE penguin who waddled through industrial training videos wearing goggles and gloves. Oh. The OSHA owl, a stern bird who explained workplace regulations.

SPEAKER_04 55:25

Right, this is crazy now because these are for adults. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 55:28

Like how seriously are Can you take OSHA owl? Probably not very.

SPEAKER_05 55:36

How much are you really paying attention to that?

SPEAKER_01 55:39

Right. And then there was uh then there was the carbon monoxide canary, a modern twist on an old mining symbol. Oh shit. That's morbid. Yeah. Right. And then there were the truly strange. There was the mold monster, a fuzzy green creature who warned about household mildew. There was Captain Radon, a superhero whose nemesis was an invisible gas. Is that the father of Radon Raccoon? Yes. Radon, no, it was the Radon Ranger. Radon Ranger.

unknown 56:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:20

That was Captain Radon was Ranger, Radon Ranger's boss. Oh. Oh yeah. There was the lead, the lead paint lion. There was the lawnmower safety paint.

SPEAKER_05 56:40

Did he warn kids not to eat chips of paint off? Don't lick lead. Don't eat your pencils.

SPEAKER_01 56:48

Don't eat your pencils. Don't still lick paint. Yeah, don't don't do it. There was the lawnmower safety gnome who warned y'all twelve who warned children to stay away from the blades.

SPEAKER_04 57:04

Smart.

SPEAKER_05 57:06

Dad's out there drum cutting the grass. He might not think to tell you near the place.

SPEAKER_01 57:11

Yeah, reach your hand under there and grab that clump out of there.

SPEAKER_04 57:14

That's something your dad wouldn't tell.

SPEAKER_01 57:17

100%. There was the bicycle safety potato. That was regional and it didn't say where. These were really hard. The bicycle safety potato. Yeah. Potato. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:38

Potatoes often. They don't get legs.

SPEAKER_01 57:42

No. That's probably why he was bad at riding a bike.

SPEAKER_04 57:46

They were probably riding that um Mr. Potatohead thing. Right.

SPEAKER_01 57:50

And finally, there was the safety bee, a mascot who buzzed through classrooms reminding children to be careful.

SPEAKER_03 58:01

Be careful. That's adorable.

SPEAKER_04 58:07

So would Herbie the Wait, was Herbie the police car? No, Herbie was the love bug. Herbie was the love bug.

SPEAKER_01 58:22

That was a I'm pretty sure that was a Disney movie.

SPEAKER_04 58:25

Yeah, but remember the the Volkswagen bug that was a cop car?

SPEAKER_03 58:31

No, I don't remember.

SPEAKER_04 58:32

Did that run around? Like I met him.

SPEAKER_03 58:35

I don't remember that. I don't remember that one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:42

Um they were odd, terrifying, charming, but they were all part of the same mission. A vast, colorful, chaotic effort to keep children safe in a world full of dangers. Some became legends, some became footnotes footnotes, and some became memes. But all of them, every bug, bear, bird, and bizarre creation were guardians in their own way. And though time has forgotten, many of their names, their messages live on. Most of these mascots are forgotten now, their costumes stored in dusty closets, and their PSAs lost to time.

Memes, Updates, And Modern Dangers

SPEAKER_01 59:18

But for a moment they were guardians too. As the 2000s dawned, everything changed. Television, the light blood of the PSA began to lose its power. Children moved to the internet, attention spans shrink. The world became louder, faster, and more fragmented. Mascots struggled to adapt. Smoky the Bear embraced CGI, trading hand painted posters for digital forests. McGruff tried to tackle cybercrime, warning children about chat rooms and online predators. Woodsy the Owl attempted a modern redesign, sleeker, sharper, more animated. Some mascots found new life, others faded quickly. But the biggest shift came from a place no one expected. Nostalgia. In the age of social media, the mascots of the past found a strange new home. Smoky became a meme, his stern warning repurposed for humor. McGruff's trench coat and gravelly voice became a symbol of retro cool, and Mr. Yuck resurfaced as an icon of punk aesthetics and counterculture. Vince and Larry clips went viral, their crashes rediscovered by a new generation. The mascots were no longer just teachers, they were cultural artifacts, relics of a time when messages were simpler and the world felt more manageable. Irony gave them new life and nostalgia gave them new meaning, and the internet gave them immortality. Today, the Guardians still walk amongst us, changed, updated, but unmistakably themselves. Smokey continues his mission, now speaking to a world grappling with climate change and mega fires. His message has evolved from preventing forest fires to understanding them, but his authority remains. Woodsy still encourages environmental stewardship, now with a focus on sustainability, conservation, and climate awareness. His message is more urgent than ever. McGruff continues to warn about dangers from identity theft to online scams to cyberbullying. He has aged, but he has not retired. Mr. Yuck still appears in poison control materials. His face still triggers a primal reaction, stay away. Vince and Larry live on in museums, archives, and the memory of those who learned from them. Their work is done, but their impact endures. They were more than mascots and teachers. They were protectors, voices that whispered warnings in our childhood. It taught us responsibility, kindness, caution, fear consequences. Together they formed a pantheon, a strange, colorful, unforgettable league of heroes. Their methods were imperfect, sometimes heavy handed were their messages, but their impact is undeniable. They shaped our generation and saved our lives. They became part of the cultural fabric of America. And through the though the world has changed, their lessons remain. They were the guardians, and in a world that still needs guidance, maybe they always will be, for decades, they were more than just characters on a screen. They were woven into the fabric of our childhood, as familiar as serial mascots. But no cultural force is without its critics, and the guardians were no exception. Some argued that Smoky oversimplified forest management. His message, while well intentioned, contributed to decades of fire suppression policies that made modern wildfires more severe. Others questioned Woodsy's cheerful optimism, suggesting that environmental issues required more than catchy slogans and cartoon birds. McGruff faced scrutiny for his association with law enforcement during eras of rising tension and mistrust. His PSAs, once seen as empowering, were later viewed by some as fear-based or overly simplistic.

unknown 1:02:52

Mr.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:52

Yuck was accused of being too frightening or not frightening enough. Some poison control experts argued that children didn't always understand the symbol or that parents misused the stickers. Even Vincent Larry faced criticism. Their humor, some said, trivialized the seriousness of car accidents, but despite the controversy, one truth remained. They made people think and they made people act. And in a world of public safety, that is no small achievement. We're all they we grew up with these mascots and are adults now, for parents and teachers and firefighters, park rangers, police officers, environmental scientists, and people who carry the lessons of their childhood into the world they shape today. And ask them what they remember, and their answers are strikingly similar. They remember Smokey's voice, Woodsy's whistle, McGruff's trench coat, Mr. Yuck's face, and Vincent Larry's crashes. They taught us responsibility, awareness, empathy, caution, and care. They taught us that our actions mattered and that they had power to protect themselves. We had power to protect ourselves, our family, and our world. Today, new dangers require new messages cyberbullying, predators, climate change, opioids, digital addictions, wild fire, megaseasons, identity theft, and mental health crisis. The world is more complex, and the more threats are more subtle. The solutions are less obvious. The mascots of today may look different, digital, animated, interactive, but they stand on the shoulders of giants. In the end, the story of America's safety mascots is not just a story about cartoons, it's a story about a nation trying to protect its children and using the tools it had, creativity it could muster, and the imagination it never lost. Oh. Smoky Woodsy, McGruff, Mr. Yuck, Vincent Leary, and all the forgotten guardians who stood behind them, beside them were more than mascots, they were protectors and a voice that shaped our childhood. So much fun.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:59

I know.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:06

Those when I started it, I was like, oh, because there's not really a whole lot. I mean, you know what I mean? Like it's like, well, they were invented and then they happened and then they went away because for obvious, you know, it was pretty much like, well, obviously, we know why they because children are smarter or less apt to believe a talking bear. I don't know. Yeah. I don't know.

The More You Know And Recycling

SPEAKER_04 1:05:35

Speaking of nostalgia, I have to give another plug for these the more you know commercials. Like it's so cool. Have you seen any of them yet? I haven't, no. And I think they use like actors that we that are like our age. Oh uh. Look familiar, like you probably know them from a show you used to watch or something. But the latest one I've been seeing.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:00

is um she talks about um like did you know that three plus hours a day your child on technology you know and what it does to their mental health and sorry and you know and and little tips on how to you know make them take breaks and limit their time and then it's the more you know and the star comes across you know and it's very effective they were all very effective um for us because we all still remember them like there's not like if you walked into any room with a gr with a bunch of Gen Xers and they and we're like only you and everyone can finish that you know take a bite out of everyone can do the voice and um and they did probably because I I do remember recycling when I was in you know before it was really mainstream to recycle I remember you know my dad would begrudgingly do it because there was a recycling place like at the town hall. Oh and so like you used to have to take your recycling yes you had to take your recycling places so it was like when you drop off clothes in the goodwill bin yep you had to kids back in my day you had to actually take your recycling somewhere else yeah they didn't just come get it and you had to separate it now you don't even have to separate it.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:38

Right yeah and even like you had to separate green glass from white glass green glass and brown glass yep yep mm-hmm I do remember and then there was like corrugated cardboard but that was different than like and cereal box cardboard it was very complicated.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:57

It was a very complicated system it was but a lot of people but we did it because you know because Woodsy the owl told us we needed to and yeah you know I I I remember them all very well and very fondly and yeah yes so I I thought we'd have a little fun today with it and that was a really great nostalgia topic.

Final Thoughts And Sign-Off

SPEAKER_04 1:08:25

I loved it I'm still having writer's block it's annoying yeah I have a list I started a list I have a list but I read through it and I'm like me well you got a whole you got a whole week now so I'll still wait until Monday night to do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:46

I know I usually do too this one did I didn't this one I worked on it the whole weekend because I was like because the more I like Googled safety mascots and it started getting those weird ones I was like what are you even talking about? I can't wait to see like the picture that you put up for for the episode on the on the book of face and yes I always like your your posts always entertain me with the pictures you choose thank you I try uh I try to step out of the box with it I think you should pick somebody who's not the well I don't know I'll let you choose anyway see if we can find some lightning bugs or something whatever the other ones were the weird ones the ma some mildew monster or something. Well I might have to start with a classic one right radon ranger because radon apparently was a big problem back then. With it yeah we had a number of uh radon masters okay well everybody I'm exhausted so I have to go to bed um thanks for listening thank you you can um find us where all of the podcasts live yep yep yep you can find us on all the socials at like whatever pod uh we have a website www.likewhateverpod.com um like share rate review please um you can send us an email about your favorite safety mascot to like whatever pod at gmail dot com or don't like whatever whatever bye bye like whatever