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TV's "Mr. Wizard," Don Herbert, Dies At 89

Posted by kdawson on Tue Jun 12, 2007 09:30 PM
from the so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-experiments dept.
Media Television Science
XorNand writes "Television's Mr. Wizard, Don Herbert, died today at 89. He introduced generations of young viewers to the joys of science. Herbert, who had bone cancer, died at his suburban Bell Canyon home near Los Angeles."
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TV's "Mr. Wizard," Don Herbert, Dies At 89 50 Comments More /

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  • Sad (Score:5, Insightful)

    by omeomi (675045) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:32PM (#19485891) Homepage
    Wow, that's sad. I loved that show...

    • Re:Sad (Score:5, Insightful)

      by nschubach (922175) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:47PM (#19486001) Journal
      Amazing, for someone I've never met, I think I just cried a little (and am not afraid to admit it.) I used to love that show.
      • It's not strange to mourn the passing of one who has impacted so many lives in a positive manner even if you've never met him in person.

        He turned a lot of us on to science as kids. He'll be missed.

      • Re:Sad (Score:5, Insightful)

        by munpfazy (694689) on Wednesday June 13 2007, @03:11AM (#19487975)

        Amazing, for someone I've never met, I think I just cried a little (and am not afraid to admit it.) I used to love that show.


        I also cried while reflecting upon the news of his death. (And I'm the sort of person who greets most celebrity deaths with rude jokes. You should hear my Lady Diana and Ronald Reagan one-liners.)

        I don't want to belittle the very real loss his friends and family are experiencing or the pain of cancer, but perhaps we should envy him. To die at 89 with the knowledge that you've inspired generations of scientists and science enthusiasts is hardly the worst outcome one can hope for. I'd go to my grave satisfied having positively impacted a tiny fraction of the number of lives he's touched.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by LoadWB (592248) *
          I would like to thing so, though I do not know the answer for certain. I loved watching Mr. Wizard's World on Nickelodeon back in the 80's. When I was growing up, my 12" black and white television never left channel seven, which was Nick. Great shows like "Mr. Wizard's World," "What Will They Think of Next?", "You Can't Do That on Television," and a slew of kid-oriented serials. I do not think the shows now come close to the caliber and quality, but then it is a different world now, so it is difficult f

  • Science is timeless, isn't it? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by LostCluster (625375) * on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:32PM (#19485893) Homepage
    Just where are the reruns and DVDs of his work?
  • I sent him an email about a year ago thanking him for a great show. I learned a ton about science from that show, even stuff that helped me with high school and college physics. I'm very sad to hear about this.

  • An inspiration to a generation (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sharky611aol.com (682311) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:36PM (#19485921)
    What a loss. He turned on an entire generation of kids to science. Surely I'm not the only one who used to wake up before school at 6 AM to watch Mr. Wizard on Nickelodeon before school? I know I wouldn't be where I am today (M.D.) without Mr. Wizard, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

    • Re:An inspiration to a generation (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Bayoudegradeable (1003768) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:42PM (#19485961)
      Even though I am a social studies teacher, I inject as much science as I can, especially in geography class. Certainly Mr. Wizard sparked a love of science that I still carry today. Even more so, he fed all of our curious natures, and helped us answer questions about why stuff happens. If only someone were carrying the torch today. I don't quite trust the Wiggles and Barney to carry the next generation...
    • Ahhh those were the days when America liked kids to learn science, not sex after school.
      But since those kind of kids tend to question the Govt., It has slowly now toned down the science completly
      and instead displays would prefer a mud fight between Britney in nude and Paris in Jail costume...
      Even seen FOX show any such science show? NO
      They would prefer a Creationist Show, O'reilly, etc.

       

    • An inspiration for TWO generations. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Ungrounded Lightning (62228) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @10:19PM (#19486227) Journal
      He turned on an entire generation of kids to science. Surely I'm not the only one who used to wake up before school at 6 AM to watch Mr. Wizard on Nickelodeon before school?

      That was his second show.

      His first one turned on many (including me) in my generation (now becoming eligible for Senior Citizen Discounts).

    • Re:An inspiration to a generation (Score:5, Insightful)

      by munpfazy (694689) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @11:52PM (#19486987)
      Two generations, at the very least.

      When the news of his death was announced in our lab, it generated a spontaneous group discussion and collective revery. Of the 8 mid-twenties physics PhD candidates in the room, only one wasn't intimately familiar with his programs. Most shared very detailed accounts of favorite demonstrations, and all examples were met with knowing nods from the gathered crowd.

      I watched a lot of television as a kid, but (with Mr. Roger's Neighborhood a notable second), no program ever came close to matching Mr. Wizard's show in either the importance I placed upon it at the time or the degree to which I can remember it today. Outside of the occasional trip to the museum, it was the only chance many of us had to encounter the sciences in any guise other than the dessicated list of memorizable-facts presented in elementary textbooks.

      Would I have found my calling in the sciences without his program? Who knows. Perhaps. But probably not as early or as easily. And I sure as hell would have missed out on several hours a week of sheer joy as I watched his program and tried to replicate some of the less materials-intensive experiments.

      The real tragedy, of course, isn't that he has died, but that (according to wikipedia) his programs are no longer broadcast anywhere. I haven't seen television in a while, so its possible that there's even better science programming available today. But, somehow, I doubt it.

      So long, Mr. Wizard. Tonight I'll light a candle in your honor (under an overturned air-and-water-filled tumbler sitting in a pan of water. . .)
    • He was never shown in England, as best as I can recall, however two similar presenters from the sceptered isle were Johnny Ball and Professor Heinz Wolff. Their different, light, entertaining approach to science probably did much the same for British kids as Mr Wizard did for the US. Other countries probably have similar figures they can point to.

      (Mentally crosses over to the alternative fuels story and pictures North Carolina being invaded by people on Eggmobiles performing strange chemical experiments i

    • Which generation? (Score:5, Informative)

      by techno-vampire (666512) on Wednesday June 13 2007, @01:29AM (#19487507) Homepage
      You probably remember watching Mr. Wizard's World in the '80s. I remember watching Watch Mr. Wizard in the '50s. He inspired not one, but two generations, and that's something to be proud of!
  • So long Mr. Wizard, and thanks for all the memories.

    I always wanted my own HERO robot ....

  • The Fahrealz Gandolf. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:40PM (#19485947)
    I remember this one episode, he had this huge pulley system. And he lifted some heavier-than-if-trying-without-pulleys load that went up. And this other episode, he got this kid up on like a 10 story building, with this super long straw, and had him try to suck up the plum juice. There was so much space, human lungs can't create a large enough vacuum. So then he had him hook up a vacuum pump, and up the plum juice went.

    R.I.P. Mr. Wizard. I will never forget you.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by mdsolar (1045926)
      That should not have been any more than a three story building. The atmosphere can only support a column of water about 32 feet high. This is why you have to put a pump at the bottom of a deep well (force pump) rather than using suction from the top.
      --
      Rent solar power with no installation cost: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-user s -selling-solar.html [blogspot.com]

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by DigiShaman (671371)
        As I understand it, one atmosphere (1 bar) = 14.7 PSI. When you pull a vacuum, the best you can do is reduce that to zero, or close to it.

        That said, when the combined fluid in the straw reached a certain weight, 14.7 PSI of pressure is no longer enough to "push" more fluid up higher (the other end is 0 PSI of course).

        Which leads me to my question. Why is 32 feet the limit? Given what I just stated, one would think the maximum height would change depending on two factors. 1. The diameter of the straw. 2. The

        • Re:The Fahrealz Gandolf. (Score:4, Informative)

          by Cadallin (863437) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @11:10PM (#19486611)
          1. The Diameter of the straw doesn't matter because pressure is only dependent on depth. The Pressure exerted on a body submerged 10m below the surface of a body of water is the same, regardless of whether its a swimming pool or the ocean (with one caveat, which I'll get to in a second)

          2. The Density of a fluid does matter. The denser a fluid is, the lower the height the pressure of the atmosphere can support it. So, ocean water, being denser than distilled or fresh water, can't be supported up to a full 32ft. Mercury, being exceptionally dense, over 13 times as dense as water, can only be supported to a height of 760 millimeters.

          The last fact I mentioned is why barometers are traditionally made using mercury. In order to accurately measure atmospheric pressure (useful in meteorology) you need to be able to see changes in the height of a fluid column (before we got more advanced equipment anyway). Water is obviously inconvenient for this, requiring a column 32 ft high, although it is very precise, because minute changes in pressure cause large fluctuations in the height of the column. This is why mm*Hg (millimeters of mercury) is a standard unit of pressure, with 760mm*Hg = 1atm.

          The caveat I mentioned above is that the pressure exerted on a body 10m under the surface in the ocean is higher, but only because salt water is denser than fresh water. It has nothing to do with the size of the body.

  • Got me hooked on science (Score:4, Interesting)

    by PoitNarf (160194) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:41PM (#19485959)
    I distinctly remember watching an episode of Mr. Wizard when I was about 5 years old. He was showing the power of centripetal force; took a bucket full of water and made a quick vertical circle with it. All the water stayed in the bucket of course. To my 5 year old mind, that totally blew me away. Ever since then I was hooked on science. Thanks for showing me the light Mr. Wizard.

  • Who is our generation of Mr. Wizard? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:54PM (#19486057)
    This is shitty news. I used to watch Mr. Wizard on Nickelodeon as a kid. My dad watched him as a kid in the 1950s.

    Of course, we had Carl Sagan on TV too.

    I don't really watch too much TV, but someone please tell me that there are others like him that promoted reason and experimentation. Is it Bill Nye? Is there someone else? Where do gets get their appreciation of critical thinking and the scientific method? Who are the media-friendly scientist role models of today?

  • RIP, Science Man... (Score:5, Funny)

    by DCheesi (150068) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @09:58PM (#19486077) Homepage
    Ahh, the guy who caused me to "forget" how to swallow, just in time for a visit with my super-cook aunt :)

    I watched an episode where he demonstrated that swallowing is more sophisticated than just throwing food down your throat. I subsequently tried to "observe" my own swallow reflex; but, being a true reflex action, conscious observation disrupted the whole process. Then I started to get scared that I might swallow wrong and choke myself; from there, the self-consciousness made it impossible to swallow properly, and I could only (literally) choke down a few swallows of food in a sitting.

    Everyone wondered why I wasn't chowing down as usual, but it wasn't until the end of the trip that I admitted what was going on. Eventually, of course, I got over it, and I can now shovel food down my throat with the best of them :) However, I still have trouble swallowing pills, or chugging a beer, because I re-learned the swallow reflex in a way that prevented too much food going down at once.

    Nonetheless, I think Mr. Wizard's departure is well worth noting. A toast to Mr Wizard! :-)

  • Thank you, Mr. Wizard (Score:3, Insightful)

    by NeverVotedBush (1041088) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @10:12PM (#19486183)
    Thank you very much. I used to watch your show religiously as a kid.

  • As Mr. Wizard would say... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by WidescreenFreak (830043) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @10:36PM (#19486357) Homepage Journal
    He wouldn't want us to mourn but rather to celebrate and learn. After all, life and death are, as he would say, "based on scientific principles". :)

    Godspeed, Mr. Wizard, and thanks for the memories!

  • generational gap (Score:5, Insightful)

    by f1055man (951955) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @10:43PM (#19486389)
    Interesting to see who knows who he is and who doesn't. He was on from 50s to mid 60s, a brief stint in the early 70s and then throughout the eighties to early 90s. So as a child of the 80s, I share something in common with the boomers, my parents, but not with my older cousins. If you were born in the 60s or early 70s you probably missed out on something great. My condolences to all of you.

    It's also worth mentioning that he not only reached kids through his tv shows, thousands of teachers and later science shows learned from his example as well. So even if you don't know who he is, it's likely your science teachers did. Having influenced millions over the last 50 years, it becomes hard to comprehend just how much of our technological society we owe to Mr. Wizard.

  • rip mr wizard. here's a few of my favourites... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by vena (318873) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @11:09PM (#19486599)
    baking soda and aluminum foil, when heated in water, can remove tarnish from silver
    how to cut a piece of paper so it makes a hole big enough to jump through
    how to crush a metal box without using your hands, only hot and cold water
    a bucket of water can stop a bullet

  • You made a nerd out of me. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by supabeast! (84658) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @11:55PM (#19487005)
    Some guys remember that special gym teacher, who taught them to act like big lugnuts.
    Others remember screaming drill sergeants.
    A few even remember the crazy wino who would buy them a six pack of beer in exchange for one of the cans.
    Lots of people have made men out of boys.

    But it was Mr. Wizard who made us nerds.

    He is sorely missed.

  • Uh-oh (Score:3, Funny)

    by Bongo Bill (853669) on Wednesday June 13 2007, @12:25AM (#19487173) Homepage
    I think we're gonna need another Mr. Wizard!

  • 2 Hours of Interview with Don on Google Video (Score:5, Informative)

    by antdude (79039) on Wednesday June 13 2007, @01:09AM (#19487419) Homepage Journal
    I was searching for "Mr. Wizard" on Google Video for some cool clips and even episodes, and stumbled this interview that you people might be interested:

    "In his four-part (each part is posted separately) oral history interview, host Don Herbert describes his early years as an actor on stage ... all and radio before turning to television where he created the classic children's science series "Watch Mr. Wizard". He details his hosting of the show, as well as working with his young assistants. He talked about his simultaneous work as "G.E. Theatre's" "progress reporter," hosting a different three-minute commercial segment for each episode through the majority of run. He talks about the later incarnations of the "Mr. Wizard" franchise. He also mentions his appearances on morning and late-night television talk shows."

    1 [google.com]
    2 [google.com]
    3 [google.com]
    4 [google.com]
    • One reason for the longevity and quality of his program was, paradoxically, that it did not have to make money. It was considered public affairs programming.

      Broadcasters used to have to meet certain minimum public interest service requirements as a condition of their license. This meant that they had to provide a certain quantity public affairs and educational programming, and they had to broadcast opposing views on controversial topics.

      In the 1980s, the Reagan administration appointees on the FCC abolishe

  • In the words of Perfect Tommy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SirBruce (679714) on Wednesday June 13 2007, @02:28AM (#19487791) Homepage
    Perfect Tommy: Emilio Lizardo. Wasn't he on TV once?

    Buckaroo Banzai: You're thinking of Mr. Wizard.

    Reno: Emilio Lizardo is a top scientist, dummkopf.

    Perfect Tommy: So was Mr. Wizard.

    • Re:What can we do? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by mcb (5109) on Tuesday June 12 2007, @10:58PM (#19486477) Homepage
      Volunteer on science days at your local schools, such as space day [spaceday.org]. I still remember watching Mr. Wizard as a kid in the 80s and I have no doubt my interest in science was heavily influenced by his show on Nick. We need to continue his legacy of fostering an interest in science and technology in the next generation.

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