William Sanford Nye is a science communicator, author, and former mechanical engineer best known for the science education show "Bill Nye the Science Guy." As a science advocate, he has discussed topics such as evolution, climate change, and science education during media appearances.
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Doing impressions helped Nye realize he enjoyed making people laugh, and he pursued stand-up and comedy writing gigs while working at Boeing after college. On October 3, 1986, he left his engineering job to pursue a full-time career in the entertainment industry.
"Almost Live!" began in 1984 as a Sunday evening talk show before evolving into a sketch comedy show that served as the lead-in for "Saturday Night Live" on NBC's Seattle affiliate station. Besides Nye, TV stars Joel McHale and Lauren Weedman were regular cast members.
Host Ross Shafer suggested Nye perform scientific demonstrations to fill the time left by a cancelled guest, knowing Nye explained scientific concepts as a volunteer at the Pacific Science Center. "You could be, like, Bill Nye the Science Guy," said Shafer.
Set in an alternate timeline after the conclusion of "Back to the Future Part III," the series starred Jules and Verne—the children of Dr. Emmett Brown and Clara. Each of its 26 episodes concluded with a live-action segment in which Bill Nye performed an experiment related to that episode.
In high school, boys served as waiters during a ceremony where girls would receive awards for gymnastics, lacrosse, and other sporting events. Wanting to fit the role, Nye's father helped him dress like a waiter, and he continued wearing bow ties upon seeing their practicality in the lab.
The series received substantial funding from the National Science Foundation and US Department of Energy to help fulfill requirements from the 1990 Children's Television Act to support educational children's programming. The show became the first television program to run concurrently on both public and commercial broadcast stations.
From 1951 to 1965, the former B-24 bomber pilot performed science experiments that home audiences could replicate on "Watch Mr. Wizard," inspiring about 50,000 Mr. Wizard Science Clubs throughout North America. Subsequent series, including "Mr. Wizard’s World" and "Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard," ran on Nickelodeon until 1996.
His pointe shoes feature a support structure to protect ballet dancers' toes during performance. The throwing technique trainer guides athletes in achieving the optimal form for throwing a ball, while the educational magnifying glass made from a plastic bag and water featured on his show.
Originally wanting to lean into his engineering background to explain the workings of objects such as bicycles and bridges, Nye ran his idea past his former professor at a college reunion. Sagan told him that children resonated with pure science, not technology, altering the show's future topics.
In his 2017 documentary, Nye revealed the congenital, neurological condition on his father's side of the family, which is characterized by a lack of balance and problems with fine motor movement. He has since learned he likely does not have the disease, though both his siblings have shown symptoms.
Since the time our ancient human relatives began using stone tools to perform tasks, humans have harnessed scientific knowledge and new technologies to advance our ability to feed ourselves, increase our health, expand the boundaries of our knowledge, and much more. From artificial intelligence and quantum computing, to optimizing the human body in pursuit of a long and healthy life, and much more—learn about these topics and more with our smart-but-digestible overviews and expert-curated resources.