A ringing bell on a weekday afternoon meant the same thing for all school-aged children in the '90s — closing time. Some of us went home, while others endured the after-school programs and daycare centers their parents enrolled them in. No matter where we went, if any of these places had a television set, then it was as sure bet that every single one of us kids was watching it when Animaniacs came on.

The syndicated cartoon show was quite popular on Fox and, later, the now-defunct WB network, where it moved in 1995. Along with Tiny Toon Adventures and Taz-Mania, it attracted 10 million viewers every weekday. At least a quarter of these were over the age of 18 since, as creator Tom Reugger once put it, "We wanted to make ourselves laugh more than we had." It was also successful because, despite the innuendos, it was heavy on education. Besides, where else were '90s kids going to learn the names of every country in the world? School?

After five seasons and 99 episodes, the Steven Spielberg-produced animated series came to an end 17 years ago on Saturday, Nov. 14, 1998. To celebrate its many contributions to schooling kids after school, let's review the eight best Animaniacs lessons in geography, history, anatomy, morality and current events. We even made sure to satisfy Miss Flamiel's requirement that all responses be put in the form of question.

A ringing bell on a weekday afternoon meant the same thing for all school-aged children in the '90s — closing time. Some of us went home, while others endured the after-school programs and daycare centers their parents enrolled them in. No matter where we went, if any of these places had a television set, then it was as sure bet that every single one of us kids was watching it when Animaniacs came on.

The syndicated cartoon show was quite popular on Fox and, later, the now-defunct WB network, where it moved in 1995. Along with Tiny Toon Adventures and Taz-Mania, it attracted 10 million viewers every weekday. At least a quarter of these were over the age of 18 since, as creator Tom Reugger once put it, "We wanted to make ourselves laugh more than we had." It was also successful because, despite the innuendos, it was heavy on education. Besides, where else were '90s kids going to learn the names of every country in the world? School?

After five seasons and 99 episodes, the Steven Spielberg-produced animated series came to an end 17 years ago on Saturday, Nov. 14, 1998. To celebrate its many contributions to schooling kids after school, let's review the eight best Animaniacs lessons in geography, history, anatomy, morality and current events. We even made sure to satisfy Miss Flamiel's requirement that all responses be put in the form of question.