#945 Old school candies

Neil Pasricha

Everyone’s got the candy of their generation, their neighborhood, and their tastes. What sugary delights sent young minds to greats heights when you were a kid? Well, let’s share. Here are some highlights from fourth grade:

Sizzles and pops

9. Lotsa Fizz. Also known by its more convenient nickname ‘Fizz’, these candies masqueraded as a regular ol’ hard candy, the kind you might find in a doctor’s office or a crystal dish in your grandma’s front foyer. Other than the snake-like packaging, linking individually-wrapped pieces together, there appeared to be nothing special about them. However, once you crunched into them, they released a tingly, carbonated bubble-liquid that sizzled and frothed on the tongue. A real advancement in the candy surprise effect. Good for a year or so

8. Massive, fist-sized Jawbreakers aka Dinosour Eggs. The big question here was who could fit these in all the way? Occasionally, a local big mouth would manage to squeeze it up in there, and then proceed to nearly suffocate while trying to simultaneously breathe and speed-suck the jawbreaker down to a smaller size with drool flying everywhere. It wasn’t pretty. You were actually watching them OD right in front of you. Of course, others would simply leave the giant jawbreaker on their night table and have a few licks before bedtime, spending a year or so patiently turning the smooth sphere it into a faded, rubbed-out rainbow of dried spit and sugar. Whatever you think about these things, they definitely came out on top of the Total Candy Minutes Per Dollar ranking.

7. Pez. Was it just me, or did Pez have a kind of weird taste? Don’t get me wrong — the dispenser alone was enough for some great memories, despite some questionable versionsover the years.

Sour balls

6. Tear Jerkers aka Sour Balls. At the time, Tear Jerkers were a futuristic advancement in Artificial Souring Technology. They caused a massive sugar high epidemic at my grade school, with kids running over to the variety store at lunch to grab a new bag, daring each other to eat two or three at a time. The gum that remained after the sour powder was gone was always a wet, syrupy disappointment, and usually ended up in the trash to make more room in your mouth. But that sour powder packed a punch and it often left the insides of your cheeks all inflammed and torn up for the rest of the week. And of course, there was always the big question: who has the guts to eat the leftover patch of sour powder in the corner of the bag?

Don't break the stick!

5. Fun Dip aka Lik-M-Aid. Fun Dip was an entirely new way to eat your candy: Lick an edible candy stick and then use your own spit as glue to collect all the sugar-powder below. Well, it was a great long-lasting treat, as long as your stick didn’t come broken when you bought it. If that happened, you had to dive in with your wet finger instead. But you had to be careful, because it was that mark of the stained, purple finger that gave away why you weren’t hungry at dinner time. A lot of people would finish off by eating the actual stick itself for good measure which is sort of like eating your fork after finishing your pie.

4. Hot and Cold Nerds. Nerds was always a decent backup selection — it filled up the candy bag but was rarely the first pick. Sure, that little box of tiny, hard, asteroid-shaped candy offered two flavors in one box, but there was nothing too special about picking up Watermelon and Grape or Strawberry and Lemon. That is, until Nerds came out with the temperature-themed Hot and Cold Nerds box in the late 80s. Sure, maybe it was just bright, red cinnamon and bright, blue wintergreen, but it sure was fun alternatingly burning and freezing sensations in your mouth. Of course, there were always two kinds of Nerds kids — the slow, tantric, shake-it-in-your-hands-and-savor-it kids, and the minute men who instead preferred the all-in-one-go, head-tilt, box-shake manouver.

3. Bizarre Forms of Gum. Remember the glory days where gum came in so many different forms? There was baseball card gum, shattering and cutting the inside of your mouth like glass when you bit into it. There was Big League Chew, the shredded chewing tobacco gum. And of course there were Bubble Jugs, Bubble Tape, and even Bubble Gum Squeeze Tubes, which you pushed into your mouth like toothpaste, though with the exact opposite effect.

2. Pixy Stix. I always admired the straight-shooting style of Pixy Stix. Unlike the other candies, they didn’t dress up and pretend to be anything besides sugar. They were the real deal, straight up, just sugar in a straw. You want something gummy, sticky, sour, or chewy? Try the other guys. Now, if you want plain sugar, you’ve come to the right place. Available in regular size and occasionaly a Super Jumbo Straw version. Just be careful you don’t get dry-throat and gag on it when your brother pours a strawful down your throat.

Good luck kicking the habit

1. Popeye Cigarettes. These ones were the real deal, before they took off the red tip at the end and rebranded them as ‘Popeye’s Candy Sticks.’ Yes, after a dark, moody stint with the patch, Popeye managed to finally kick the habit. But good thing, or he probably wouldn’t be with us today.

Yes, finding and chowing down on some of the candies you grew up with is like sucking on sugary memories. Because how did it feel walking out of your local corner store with a wide smile pasted across your face, an empty wallet, and an armful full of candy?

I think we all know the answer to that.

AWESOME!

Gateway drug to shotgunning a beer

Hey everyone,

Today’s our last day!

For those who are just signing on this week, Gretchen Rubin is a longtime friend and fan of 1000 Awesome Things and I’m excited to announce that she has an awesome new book out this week! It’s called Happier at Home and is a follow-up to her mega-bestselling book The Happiness Project which has been tag-team partner of The Book of Awesome on the bestseller lists for the past couple years.

To celebrate we’re giving away five copies of Happier at Home! We’ve been picking a winner from the comments each day this week. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with one thing you do in your life that makes you happier. There’s no limit to entries! Just make sure you’ve got the correct email address so we can contact you if you win…

We will publicly congratulate all winners next week.

Good luck!

Neil

Photos from: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here

59 thoughts to “#945 Old school candies”

  1. I miss Rally bars. Can’t remember what was in them, just remember loving them at the time. Oh, and that gum with the liquid in the center…yummy!

  2. Looking back through photo albums and laughing and crying along with my life and those who have shared in it…remembering so many who’ve touched my life.

    1. I love doing this too. I’ve been taking pictures of the old pictures and posting them onto Facebook for everyone to see. It brings back some great memories and everyone loves it.

  3. I use colorful pens for everything…lime green, purple, orange…even writing a check for a bill doesn’t seem as dour when it’s written in hot pink!

  7. These brought back a lot of memories. How about licorice pipes? Why did I not recognize that it was weird to be pretending to smoke a pipe in grade school?

    Which reminds me: as a 48 year old, one of the things I do that makes me happy is indulge in licorice when the mood strikes me.

    1. All’sfun in love of candy until over-indulgance of 100 Rockets in 3 days had my heart near blast off to the moon!
      And Licorice could shoot you to the center of the earth!
      *note: Careful moderation is key with candy!

    2. We’re the same age. :) Since I don’t like licorice, I never indulged in the pipes, but I chewed/ate more than my share of candy/gum cigarettes.

  8. Listening to the entire story on NPR, even if it means sitting in our driveway or the grocery parking lot for awhile, is something I do that makes me happy.

  9. I buy my favorite pens, even though we have approximately one and one-half jillion other kinds of pens around this house, bound with rubber bands, waiting to be used.

  15. My daughter is all about the Pez and Fun Dip. Those are her favorite candy! I gave my son his first Pixie Stick the other day…oh, you shoulda seen his face!

  16. More things that make me happy, oh its been a full week of happiness!! Watching my daughter play ball, it makes her so happy and proud of herself and in turn it makes me feel the same.
    Hearing my son say my name and then babble something I don’t understand. Makes me laugh every time!
    Getting flowers for no reason
    Sleeping through the night!!!!

  17. My mom never let me eat jawbreakers but I was obsessed with pez! I always liked the yellow and pink.

  19. Swimming! Being “buoyant” spreads throughout my whole body and makes me remember being a little kid just learning the exhilarating lesson that I could float! Ah, the power of a good float now and then

      1. I watched both my grand-babies spirit’s buoyant with this discovery this summer and remembered the feeling, crystal clear…thanks for reminding me~ most awesome!

  21. Thinking about my favorite Sugar Daddy and Slo Poke pops! Those and Charms Apple Blow Pops! What makes me happy? Myriad things! But I especially enjoy kayaking of an early morning with the fog rising off the river. Oh, and a book in hand any time!

  23. This is my favorite post so far. It brought back many fond memories. I used to really, really love Hubba Bubba. Especially those gum tape things. I also really loved nerds. I need to eat more candy. I just love the stuff.

  24. What makes me happy… ah, definitely music. I make a point of listening to music every day (and most days playing some music myself). It’s always amazing to me how much music can affect my emotion and my attitude. It makes good days great and miserable days bearable. So good.

    1. Wiki says, Listening to music lowers cortisoles. Dancing to music substantially lowered:)
      Now far as I know there;s no scientific evidence but I imagine singing, dancing and playing a musical instrument, with rings on fingers and bells on toes, while riding horse-back must surely project some of the very best Happiness!!! =D

  25. Excuse me but please do not ever again use the phrase “Today’s our last day!” about anything — you scared me! I want to be reading this blog until it hits 1,000,000 Awesome Things!

  26. Making art and listening to music at the same time with a glass of wine within reach. Heaven! And also kissing my dog all over her lovely soft face. These are happy-making for me.

    1. I love that you said “happy-making!” I say that all the time, too! Not a phrase I hear others say very often. :)

  27. How about those little plastic garbage cans that had hard candied inside? They were shaped like pieces of garbage. Loved those because they were the perfect blend of powdery, sour and sweet goodness! Do they still sell these?

  29. So what is the one thing that I do that makes me happy… I write lists. I love it. I have tried to corral this habit with books or pads or using just the list section on your day planner. But day in day out, writing lists and crossing them off makes me happy. I love using scrap paper or post its. My favourite, favourite paper is graph paper. And my latest swoon is whitelines graph paper. I tried digital lists for a few days but reverted back to paper and pen.
    So a list maker I will be. And then taking all the 1/2 finished lists and making a new list. Wohoo. And don’t get me started on what pens to use. Or whether I will print or use cursive. So should you drop by I will show you the variety of lists I have on the go and you will see a very happy girl.

  30. Doing a few Mad Libs with my children every night before bed. It’s a riot and they laugh their heads off at the silliness!

  31. Hi Kathy, I can’t find your comment but I believe Congratulations is in order on a new job! :)
    I can’t wait until Sunday to announce, I was tired and then received an email from the wizard of Awesome-land, I WON an AWESOME prize!
    Winning a prize makes me very happy! And so now I shall be bubbly with happy!

    1. BIG CONGRATS, Wendy! Enjoy a good read! Yes, I got a job and I start Wed. Excited, anxious, enthusiastic, motivated! Looking forward to a new start.

  32. Wrapping my dog in a towel after giving her a bath :D
    Brushing my hair before going to sleep :D
    Tearing paper along those dotted lines of tiny holes :D
    Heat from paper straight from the photocopy machine :D
    How streets reflect light after it has just rained :D
    How the air conditioner smells right after you turn them on :D
    Being in a good mood for no apparent reason :D
    Admiring my finished work :D
    Putting glasses on for the first time and seeing the world in hd :D
    New socks :D

    1. I love your insights and I too find the lights reflections on a rainy street magnificent! Living in a small country town, I’d forgotten the beauty of this in my hometown and big city,Vancouver…Thank you~ I can see this and smell it too:)

  34. your energy and attitude towards life inspired me a great deal! i pay more attention to details now. i’m from egypt and i started a blog called It’s all about the little details that make this life wonderful! so, thank you!

  37. Happiness is~ marching the army of “hippos” straight out of your “campus”, reducing inflammation and seeing the world seen in a whole new light of life through a colourful kaleidescope lense.

  38. Happiness is~ a mesmerizing moment watching your adult children parenting, when *their* inner child comes into clear view…beautiful!

  42. am looking for what we used to call red peanut patties red rd and sweet as heck and taffy that was about a foot long and had a white stripe down the middle of it

    1. I know what you’re talking about… Find a candy vault in your and i’m sure they’d send you some, wherever you are:)

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