Bill Nye, ‘Science Guy,’ graces Dickson Hall!

Around 9:15 tonight I hopped out of the shower, slapped on some worn slippers and a ragged t-shirt, and cruised down the hall of my dorm to visit – who else – Bill Nye, ‘the Science Guy’ (‘77)! Apparently Nye had been with the Dickson Faculty-In-Residence Nadine and Michel Louge, and, giving short notice, decided to have a brief encounter with the residents.

In a light-hearted event, Bill came bearing brownies, and gave a brief intro speech recounting his time at Cornell before answering some questions from the crowd. Nye posted up casually against a windowsill, hovering over a crowd of almost 100 Cornellians. Here are a few of the things he said for those who didn’t have the opportunity to attend – or did have the opportunity but innately deleted the list-serve email.

The first question addressed to BNTSG was simple yet loaded: “Why are you so great?” Among laughter, Nye asserted that he is awesome thanks to the great school he went to, Cornell, and the opportunities and knowledge it provided for him. He used the question as an opportunity to tell the audience about his career and where he started. He spoke about his first job, doing engineering work for Boeing, and then transitioned into discussing his TV career. According to Nye it all began when he entered a Steve-Martin look alike competition, and then won a stand-up comedy competition shortly thereafter. He often pitched the show ‘the Science Guy,’ and was rejected several times before the idea became a reality.

When asked to talk about his favorite episode from BNTSG, he refrained from choosing a single episode, using an analogy to Broadway dancing; if you’re dancing with a bunch of different great people, you won’t want to say, if you’re even able to choose, which of them was the best partner. Instead, he said that there were things from each episode that he loved and thought were especially appealing.

While speaking, BNTSG was extremely laid back and very funny. He answered questions about his bowtie, the best trajectory for a pong ball (45 degrees, then work from there, according to BNTSG), but his biggest hit among the audience was when he answered a question about his favorite Cornell memory, in a joking manner (see video below):

On a more serious note, Nye also stressed the importance of taking advantage of the education that Cornell students can receive, and the opportunities that await them if they can complete the tough curriculum at the University. Among other things, Nye mentioned that he will make an appearance at Astronomy 102 tomorrow before heading off to the west coast. When asked if he would be around for the weekend to make an appearance at TEP’s pledge party, he declined, saying he would be busy in LA.

Check out more of Bill Nye in his Discovery: Planet Green show, Stuff Happens.