Credit: David Failing,
In 1971, it was revealed in research conducted by the Pittsburgh Poison Center of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh that the traditional skull-and-crossbones warning (see the slideshow below for an example) on dangerous products tended to attract children instead of deterring them. Children associated the symbol with cartoon pirates, adventure, and the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. When shown six bottles with different symbols, the least popular was a green grimacing face. One of the children said the face looked "yucky." This was the origin of Mr. Yuk. Now, his stickers can be obtained from poison control centers around the country.
As previously mentioned, there are a litany of consumer protection groups and government agencies that aim to protect consumers. Congress has even entered the consumer-protection scene by passing multiple pieces of legislation: The Consumer Product Safety Act, The Occupational Safety and Health Act, The Toxic Substances Control Act, and The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. As previously mentioned, government agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission regulate industries to provide safer products for consumers. Consumer groups have also been created to ensure products hit the shelves as safe as possible. Below, there are several examples of these groups.