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
did you hear that that was the sound of my childhood 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
foreign
Bill Nye 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 classical and wild chanting 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 starts 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 Nye 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 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 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 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 friend she'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
I'll go stick around for Bill Nye the Science Guy oh cool it's Bill Nye the Science Guy
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 Sibley 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 Sagan 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 stand-up
comedy and found a fondness in making others laugh put your hands together welcome Bill Nye
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 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 Sagan 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
keister the host of the show retorted with who do you think you are Bill Nye the Science Guy ladies
and gentlemen Bill Nye Bill Nye Bill Nye Bill Nye Bill Nye the Science Guy this would be where the
name of the show came from in the full name we call Bill Nye now fast forwarding to 1993 bill
will develop a pilot episode of what would become Bill Nye the Science Guy specifically for kcts TV
a seattle-based public broadcasting station with backing from the National Science Foundation and
the U.S 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 14 1993 the pilot for the show aired in the following weeks it would air
Nationwide across other BS stations Disney would jump in as well serving as a producer along with
rabbit ears Productions and Disney would end up publishing the series 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 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 Nye the Science Guy would make their way to schools these here were different from the very
few VHS home video releases of Bill Nye each tape would hold one episode of the show and don't ask
me how I got them versus the regular home video releases by Disney that contained 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
90s and throughout 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 Nye 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 preach in a way that makes it feel like I am being
spoon fed information Bill Nye 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
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 still 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 intro
Bill stop interrupting your own intro
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 tephra and pamas 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 gonna lie when he revealed he's actually not in his lab
and instead in front of Mount St Helens 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 Stephen 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's 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 volcanoes 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 Bill gets his point across from his
demonstrations to one of the kids on the show explaining why volcanoes are wrapped 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 deep
voice narrator would come in to break up the gaps and 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
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 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 explaining 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 stratacone type we also get a look back at how destructive and horrifying
a volcano can be with their example being Mount Vesuvius 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 Encounters of the Third
Kind or something instead he's creating a volcano and this skit just gets wild what does this remind
you of honey you know what that reminds me of 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 a thousand degrees Celsius ah right thanks now we get another skid in the
form of a parody for Hawaii 5-0 here called pahoy Hoy 5-0 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 sinichiro ikibe where we learn about Mount asso which consists of five Peaks
and more specifically one of them being Mount nakadake which is an active volcano in Kyushu
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 we would be treated to some form of a parody music video
based on popular songs here we have one that parodies TLC's Waterfalls called lava flows
all right this is a Bob at the end bill would say his goodbyes and go off to do more sciency
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 is 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 if I'm afraid you might not believe me
I'm balancing on one 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 nye'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 90s
the first next thing that would happen was still in 1999. this time for Noggin a smaller Channel
owned by Nickelodeon and 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 Nye the Science Guy but it turned into these shorts featuring
Bill playing the same character where he was now working as the head sparkologist 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 Cyberchase came in handy for
that honestly but the point I'm making is that Bill Nye 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 nye's the eyes of nigh 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 Pub public television stepped in to
produce it unfortunately the show only lasted one season in 2005 before being canceled Bill Nye says
that it was the mistake of not wearing his iconic bow tie and instead wearing a regular tie listen
he's right the bow 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 hosts 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 29
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 watched him during the 90s and early 2000s saying that you're grown up and there's no
sugar coating these topics and by that I mean he starts swearing up a storm it was equally as
funny as it was shocking for Bill Nye to do this but the plan to bring Bill Nye 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's streaming service called the end design
it was a six-part docu-series that was worked on with Seth MacFarlane and Branan Braga 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 Nye 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 am just waiting for you Bill I need you to sign this for me I hope you see
this video one day Bill Nye 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 18 of them which is pretty impressive whether you saw it as a kid when it
was new or in class now watching it Bill Nye 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 later foreign