Don Herbert, better known to a generation of TV watching geek wannabes as Mr. Wizard, has passed away at age 89. From 1951 to 1964, Mr. Wizard graced TV screens with his Ask Mr. Wizard series, wherein he explored science with a laid-back, decidedly not cutting edge presentation, most of which used ordinary household items to conduct experiments, and explain phenomena.
A former colleague of his, Steve Jacobs, recalled Mr. Wizard’s approach like this:
When Jacobs would reach for beakers and flasks, Herbert would remind him that science didn’t require special tools.
“’You could use a mayonnaise jar for that,’” Jacobs recalled being chided by Herbert. “He tried to bust the image of scientists and that science wasn’t just for special people and places.”
Hmmm, maybe he was an uplifter before uplifting was cool.
Not a lot of glitz and glamor involved in his presentation, but he stirred my curiosity when I was a kid.
-k-
Technorati Tags: donherbert, mrwizard, uplifter
![[Valid Atom 1.0]](http://www.quietvoice.org/wp-images/valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")