Animaniacs: Mayhem and Mindfulness!

It’s 1996. Internet means AOL or maybe compuserve. Youtube? It’s ten years away from development.

So, if you’re looking for any type of educational videos/songs, your only option is Sesame Street….. or is it?

Between 1993 and 1998, kids had an alternative to Sesame Street which gave a bit more grown up feel. Rather than puppets and humans, Stephen Spielberg introduced animation as a form to educate kids.

Now, first a disclaimer – yes, this is a typical cartoon. IMDB explains, “Yakko and Wakko, and their sister, Dot — three inseparable siblings — … have a great time creating havoc and mayhem …” Education was simply one aspect of the show.

Rather than describe the various lessons the Warner brothers and sister “inadvertently” taught while creating their havoc, I thought I would share some of the videos which are now on youtube:

Obviously, this is missing a few presidents. It should be updated, but at least for those kids who need to know the first of many presidents, this is excellent!

How many adults can name all these countries? Maybe if you watch this video a few times, you might know half of them!

I’m not ashamed to say I used this video in high school to help me learn the states and capitals!

Do you have any aspiring doctors, nurses, or medical assistants in your family?

And finally… two other characters on Animaniacs, Pinky and Brain, give a lesson on the brain (a subject very near to my heart!):