there were certain days in school that
you knew were going to be great no I'm
not talking about pizza day in the
cafeteria I'm talking about when you sit
down in class and the teacher would
wheel in a TV I just realized I'm old
and a teacher these days probably just
brings up YouTube or something through a
projector can anyone watching even name
what this projector was called exactly
but when that TV was turned on and that
VHS was popped in the educational day
was saved thanks to science did you hear
that that was the sound of my child Bill
Nye the Science Guy the voice of a
classroom generation or more than one
generation I guess apparently I've heard
some schools still play Bill Nye in
class today let me know if that's true
but for me Bill Nye was there my whole
school life he was always there to teach
me about the weather or magnetism and
even garbage just when I thought he
couldn't teach me anymore he always had
another lesson up his lab coat sleeve so
today I wanted to take a look back at
some of my most prominent memories from
my years in school let's take a look at
Bill Nye the Science Guy the Science
Guy it's some
[Music]
science Bill NY was the singular vessel
that made any sort of learning at school
fun and then you're hit with one of the
best intros to any show ever just the
class going wild chanting bill bill bill
and then trying to hit the perfect
timing on science Rules ah yeah it sure
does Bill it sure does Bill Nye would
come on screen wearing his signature lab
coat and bow tie and would just start
spitting facts as if we have known him
forever the premise of the show would be
to teach you some interesting scientific
facts for about 22 minutes but adding in
a dose of humor that made it fun if
quirkiness were a person it would be
Bill he's just a big old goofball the
show would start off with some form of
cold open skit that would let us in on
the theme of the episode before we would
be introduced to his pretty iconic set
which was dubbed nigh Laboratories it
was so high energy constantly jumping
between different set pieces for each
part or scene of the lesson while having
some genuine real teaching the on camera
Charisma that bill would bring to every
episode never missing a beat is
infectious and honestly quite impressive
this was how you got through to students
to retain information and apply
themselves even better homework pop
quizzes lectures nah that's not the way
I have ADHD if you can entertain me
while teaching me there's a 100% chance
that I will actually learn each episode
would be full of of skits parodies and
cutaways that would all tie back into
the episode's theme and a lot of the
time we would also get the appearance of
a special celebrity guest love a du wait
this isn't Rick and
Morty in addition we would also see a
bunch of kids teaching smaller parts of
the lessons this always made it feel as
if the kids were just as cool as Bill
and gosh darn it did I want to be one of
those kids in these videos hanging out
with Bill and telling the audience
something about the weather clearly the
production of the show was more on the
low side which we will get into why in
just a bit but it really adds to the
charm of the show it would almost feel
equivalent to a vlog you'd see on
YouTube with these handheld camera shots
or Bill just going out and doing things
to emphasize his point it also felt like
you could pick up a camera and have a
basic knowledge of editing to make
something like this it just feels so
homegrown and cozy in fact here's my own
show right here Jordan Fringe he's full
of cringe cringe cringe cringe cringe
cringe rules it's already been canceled
now Bill Nye is not exactly Bill Nye the
Science Guy what I mean by that is that
bill himself plays a heightened version
of himself for the show the bill behind
the bill however is not just a regular
guy who plays a scientist for the sake
of entertainment he's actually quite
smart and a lot of who he was and what
he studied shows itself within the show
let's take a look at how that all came
to be 65 million
years ago stick around for Bill NY the
Science
Guy oh cool it's Bill n the Science Guy
[Music]
bill was a pretty smart kid he had this
Fascination for the way things work
after high school he went to Cornell
University and more specifically to
study at the sibl school of mechanical
aerospace engineering which was one of
Cornell's private undergraduate colleges
his interests in science would grow even
more thanks to taking an astronomy class
with the one and only Carl Sean by 1977
Bill Nye would graduate with a Bachelor
of Science in mechanical engineering
which would lead him to working for
Boeing where he was able to invent a
hydraulic resonance suppressor tube that
would be used on Boeing 747 line of
airplanes this is where Bill Nye was
also finding the comedic side of himself
pushing out a bit more he started
getting into doing standup comedy and
found a fondness in making others laugh
put your hands together welcome Bill
NY thank you my name is Bill my name is
Bill great at this point in our story I
was working on Business Jet navigation
systems laser gyroscope systems during
the day and I'd take a nap and go do
stand-up comedy by night one of these
that's a guy's life guaranteed 1986 he
quit working at Boeing and wanted to
focus on the entertainment side of his
passions going back to Cornell the
following year for the 10-year Reunion
where he was able to speak with Carl
Sean once more mentioning to him that he
wanted to make a science-based TV show
he went over all the fun and different
ideas about what he would talk about but
Carl told him to focus on pure science
that would be the thing that kids
resonate with rather than technology
Bill held on to that advice but in the
meantime he was able to get a gig
working as a writer and actor on the
seattle-based local program called
Almost live he was invited to be on the
show when an opening became available
that they needed to fill and Bill was
asked to bring that science knowledge
stuff to the program this was the big
moment that would change everything on
almost live bill would perform various
characters or even demonstrations
relating to science but the singular
moment came from Bill correcting a
pronunciation of the word gigawatt to
which John keester the host of the show
retorted with who do you you think you
are Bill NY the Science Guy ladies and
gentlemen Bill NY Bill NY Bill NY Bill
NY Bill NY the Science Guy this would be
where the name of the show came from in
the full name we call Bill n now fast
forwarding to 1993 bill would develop a
pilot episode of what would become Bill
NY the Science Guy specifically for kcts
TV a seattle-based public broadcasting
station with backing from the National
Science Foundation and the US Department
of energy the show would be a part of a
syndication deal that other local public
stations could use on their broadcast
specifically to hit the requirements
under the children's television act but
it went beyond just public broadcast it
would also be syndicated to commercial
stations as well which resulted in it
becoming the first program to run on
both at the same time April 14th 1993
the pilot for the show aired in the
following weeks it would air Nationwide
across other PBS stations Disney would
jump in as well serving as a producer
along with rabbit ear's Productions and
Disney would end up publishing the
series as as well from 1993 to 1999 Bill
Nye the Science Guy would span six
seasons containing a total of 100
episodes not including the original
pilot it was a phenomenon becoming the
most watched educational show on TV for
the United States but what became even
more impactful aside from broadcast
Outreach was that these were perfect for
classroom education here's how the
school day would officially be changed
[Music]
forever Disney had a production and
distribution label known as Disney
educational products their purpose was
to curate their own media specifically
educational based on VHS for the sole
purpose of educational institutes like
school as time would go on this would be
transitioned into DVDs naturally as well
as e-learning tools to help in the
classroom aside from thinking to
yourself right now wow what didn't
Disney have their hands in this was how
all 100 episodes of Bill NY the Science
Guy would make their way to schools
these here were different from the very
few VH as home video releases of Bill
Nye each tape would hold one episode of
the show don't ask me how I got them
versus the regular home video releases
by Disney that contain two episodes a
piece for these educational releases the
back of the tape would include some
Nifty questions from the episode
included to speak to the class about
along with the cheat sheet to help the
teacher out a bit now there would be
different printings of them but they all
followed the rule of one episode per VHS
and through this Bill Nye the Science
Guy became a staple inside of the
classroom from the 9s and through the
2000s and as far as I know still
something shown within classrooms
obviously now most places aren't using
VHS anymore some still May and I think
watching it on YouTube is the easiest
way classes can get access to it every
single episode no matter the topic was
an absolute Banger the way Bill NY was
able to break down any topic made the
learning much more comprehensive and a
lot more fun I've said it before but
with infotainment or educational based
content the real ticket winner is to
teach and not pre prach in a way that
makes it feel like I am being spoonfed
information Bill NY the Science Guy kind
of breaks that rule as of course you
knew you were being taught something and
it didn't try to hide it but it just
found a way to make it fun and engaging
Bill didn't sit there and tell you
things he got up and showed you what he
was talking about with demonstrations
skits in any way he could that was much
more Dynamic to give you the full scope
of what I'm talking about let's break
down your standard episode of the show
[Music]
let's take a look at one of my favorite
episodes from Bill Nye the Science Guy
volcanoes per usual the episode would
have a cold open with Bill either doing
a skit or in the case of this episode
him walking around some freshly hardened
lava leading into the topic of volcanoes
it's done in a quick and funny way
having him speed up the footage going
around the area before we hit the
classic musical Delight of an
[Music]
intro Bill stop interrupting your own
intro bill bill
Vol we then get a fake brought to you by
ad that is a reference to volcanoes but
under the guise of a law firm the law
offices of magma lava tefra and pumas
this is another thing that you would see
every episode that was a play on the
outro of the show saying brought to you
by the National Science Foundation bill
would somehow get into his lab and start
right away by explaining the base
concept of what we are looking into
today and show off some form of
experiment what's the big deal take a
look not going to lie when he revealed
he's actually not in his lab and instead
in front of Mount St Helen showing off
the changed landscape from the last
major eruption I wasn't old enough to be
aware of the art and magic of Film
Production and had my jaw a gape in my
brain trying to figure out how in the
heck that was even possible yeah I know
how it's done now Steven you can stop
typing that snarky comment thank you
very much Bill would then go into the
different types of eruptions a volcano
could have all while being right on the
edge of one this guy is my hero ever
since movies like Dante's Peak and
volcano this is all I've ever wanted to
do why haven't I done this as an adult
well because I'm a scared little bit in
continuing from there we would take a
look at the earth's tectonic plates and
where they would Collide and how
volcanoes would even work in the first
place but he then brings up the example
of Hawaii which the islands are made
from volcanos but rest in the middle of
a plate and not between two colliding
ones then walking us over to a
presentation regarding a magma plume
Under the Sea well under the plate
specifically where the power of the
plume punches through the sea floor
within the middle of the plate we then
cut away after building gets his point
across from his demonstrations to one of
the kids on the show explaining why
volcanoes erupt into these gloriously
terrifying explosions we then go back to
Bill looking into a skylight that lets
us look at the lava underneath as well
as seeing it in real time making new
land and even a lava tube that he just
casually walks through this man has no
fears and for that we love him sometimes
a deepo narrator would come in to break
up the gaps in scenes for the episode to
emphasize a point or continue on
something bill or one of the kids had
said lava is in constant motion now what
I really like about this part here with
Bill is that he goes beyond just The
Happening of the volcano and looks at
how nature and life continues on the
natural beauty of the process of Earth
we also get random moments like this
lava days at magma box with balloons and
as always balloons and hot dogs from Mom
and nothing
hotter hot these filler moments would be
nice ways to jump between locations and
segments in the show that are a bit
silly but really fit into to the tone
that the show is consistent in having
like I swear this is some of the stuff I
would have seen in the middle of the
night on Adult Swim we now arrive once
again at the top of a volcano where we
learn about the Caldera that right
underneath holds its magma Chambers
explaining the fluctuations of height
that it presents itself at depending on
the level of magma flowing in or out of
the chamber we then jump into the
reoccurring segment consider the
following where Bill would start
spitting some fresh facts about the
topic we were on as well as some sort of
visual representation of it here leading
him to explain how a volcano can form
and the science behind why the pressure
builds up whether it be in the middle of
a plate or between two plates colliding
jumping into him talking about the
different types of volcanoes and how
they differ and work the shield type the
cinder cone type and the Strat cone type
we also get a look back at how
destructive and horrifying a volcano can
be with their example being Mount fuus
and what that eruption caused to the
local areas where buildings were
crumbling down we get an old timey skid
about a family eating dinner while the
dad plays with his mashed potatoes and
gravy like he's in close encounter of
the Third Kind or something instead he's
creating a volcano and this skit uh just
gets wild what does this remind you of
honey you know what that reminds me of
come on honey I want to hear you say it
honey it's embarrassing make it big and
strong may I please be excused from the
table Yeah they showed us this in school
but just as spicy as that was we get
even spicier as we now discuss the
temperatures of lava I've always wanted
to do this oh yeah sorry I'm getting
distracted Bill how hot was that lava
it's over 1,000° c ah right thanks now
we get another skid in the form of a
parody for Hawaii 5o here called pohoy 5
where they are investigating Rock
samples from underneath the Earth's
crust it's so dumb but I love it so much
we get a funny look at the early suits
of protection to get near an active
volcano before a segment where we would
get to meet a cool scientist here is
cicho IAB where we learn about Mount oo
which consists of five Peaks and more
specific speically one of them being
Mount nakadake which is an active
volcano in kushu Japan where they are
studying the effects of the volcano on
the environment as at the time 50,000
people lived there after that we learn
about extinct volcanoes ones that
haven't erupted in such a long period of
time that the plume has cooled to a
solid as well as dormant volcanoes which
are classified as such meaning that they
haven't erupted in at least 200 years
but still could erupt at some point then
of course an active one which just means
it constantly has eruptions now at the
end of most episodes episodes we would
be treated to some form of a parody
music video based on popular songs here
we have one that parody's TLC's
Waterfalls called lava
[Music]
flows all right this is a Bop at the end
bill would say his goodbyes and go off
to do more sciencey things and that's
really your typical episode of Bill Nye
the Science Guy scenes and information
would be constantly flowing your way
like a bunch of lava but this was the
vibe of the whole show quick cutaways
tons of information and somehow it was
all comprehensible but after Bill Nye
the Science Guy ended what would come
next but I'm afraid you might not
believe me the Science
Guy I'm balancing on one
[Music]
finger after the final episode of Bill
Nye the Science Guy in February of 1999
what was next for Bill well his Science
Guy show would still go on to be
continuously played in schools to again
as far as I know today shaping the minds
of each generation and becoming this
iconic figure to most in studies and
surveys it proved that kids who were
viewers of Bill ny's program were more
observative and retained more
information than those who weren't as
well as because of the show kids were
enjoying science more but with the show
over after six seasons spanning most of
the 9s the first next thing that would
happen was still in 1999 this time for
Noggin a smaller Channel owned by
Nickelodeon in the children's television
Workshop they were able to acquire the
past 100 episodes to broadcast on that
channel and wanted to work together to
develop something for the channel it
wouldn't be more Bill NY the Science Guy
but it turned into these shorts
featuring Bill playing the same
character where he was now working as
the head sparkology for the channel
these shorts Were Meant to spark
conversations and topics with the
viewers to feel interactive like Bill
was once again talking directly with you
the audience originally though Bill
wanted to develop a few more show ideas
that weren't just science-based but
instead tackled other subjects like math
and even one based upon having good
judgment I personally think that it
would have been cool to see Bill Nye go
and teach other subjects as well the
science game was ran by this man just
imagine how much more fun math would be
with him well Cyber Chase came in handy
for that honestly but the point I'm
making is that bill NY works so well
because of Bill the way he is able to
break down different topics for you to
understand but through trying to come up
with another concept we land on Bill NY
the eyes of NY a show that would focus
on more serious and sometimes
controversial topics that would be aimed
at an older demographic Bill and kcts
would go back and forth dealing with
disputes and money as the show would
have originally cost a lot more to make
with them not being able to afford to
produce the pilot for the show PBS
passed on the idea in general for
Nationwide broadcast and American public
television stepped in to produce it
unfortunately the show only lasted one
season in 2005 before being cancelled
Bill NY says that it was the mistake of
not wearing his iconic bow tie and
instead wearing a regular tie listen
he's right the boat tie makes all the
difference it would then be another 11
years until bill would make headlines
for what he was working on in 2016
Netflix announced that Bill Nye had a
new series coming Bill Nye Saves the
World which would be a spiritual
successor to Bill Nye the Science Guy
now done in a more talk show format with
guests coming on the show and
participating in the topics and issues
that would be brought up the theme song
was even produced by Tyler the Creator
that's really cool and along with Bill
there were five other post that would be
included for certain topics or bits
while still focused on science it was
also focused on the connection science
has to modern-day pop culture Society
politics and more the show premiered in
April of 2017 and lasted for three
seasons ending in 2018 once that show
was over the next big moment was in 2019
during John Oliver's HBO show Last Week
Tonight when discussing climate change
Bill Nye appeared to address the topic
as well but in a way we have not seen
him before he directly speaks to the
kids who watch watched him during the
'90s and early 2000s saying that you're
grown up and there's no sugarcoating
these topics and by that I mean he
starts swearing up a storm it was
equally as funny as it was shocking for
Bill NY to do this but the plan to bring
Bill NY into this worked as it went
viral and took the Internet by storm and
most recently in 2022 this past August
Bill Nye had another new show premiere
this time for peacock streaming service
called the end is NY it was a six-part
docu series that was worked on with Seth
McFarland and Brandon Brock this series
would explore natural and unnatural
threats to humanity with how Bill can
come up with scientific ways to save the
world it would feature the same skit
based moments and still have some sort
of air of Comedy to it but it was also a
bit more serious and the budget for it
was a lot higher than any production he
had done before who knows if a second
season of the series comes to be but
it's just so weird to think that Bill
Nye has been around my entire life and
he hasn't stopped trying to teach me
scientific things thank you Bill also in
2017 Bill NY Science Guy would release
returning back to a PBS production that
was a documentary about Bill Nye from
where he was to where he is now and what
he is focusing on for the planet a
documentary that I actually contributed
to the funding process for and even have
a signed copy from the creators of the
documentary as one of my backing rewards
I'm just waiting for you Bill I need you
to sign this for me I hope you see this
video one day Bill NY the Science Guy
was the Catalyst of my learning interest
for certain topics growing up having a
fascination with so many different
things solely because of the way Bill
Nye would present them for me for
whatever he does next I can't wait to
see it but as far as the original show
it lives on as this classic educational
series of content that any generation at
any moment in time can take something
away from through its run it was
nominated for 23 daytime Emmys winning
19 of them which is pretty impressive
whether you saw it as a kid when it was
new or are in class now watching it Bill
NY was a huge part of mine and so many
countless other kids' lives that showed
us learning can be fun and why the stuff
we are learning is important for the
future of the human race and for the
future of this planet let me know your
experiences with Bill Nye the Science
Guy in the comments below do you have
fond memories of days in the classroom
with Bill on the TV maybe you never had
Bill Nye in your classroom and you've
watched this whole video scratching your
head as to what the heck I've been
talking about either way let me know and
before I go I want to leave you with a
piece of advice that Bill's father gave
to him leave the world better than you
found it thanks for watching like And
subscribe
[Music]
later with some science