Take it all in — the scents, the tastes, the sugar. It’s about memories of little league games and summer camp.
We in Generation Y had it good. We saw the emergence of the sourest candies ever made, while the good old candies you could choke on were still there.
From our sugary amazingnesses to favorite fast food, here’s a list of 10 things that taste like our childhood.
1. Airheads
The originals are still available. (Media credit/Travis Hornung/Flickr)
After taffy, there were Airheads. These babies are flattened sugar with artificial flavoring. Mmmm.
Manufactured by Perfetti Van Melle of Erlanger, Kentucky for the past two decades, the mini ones are a tease, but the big, full size, foil-packaged Airheads really do bring back memories. You could get more than one for a dollar at the concession stand at the little league field. Watermelon is particularly good, but we also remember the sour varieties and the odd “white” Airhead.
Kids today know of Airheads because they’ve done a Spongebob variety and in 2007 and 2008, a new “BerryHot” flavor gets warm in your mouth, and “Chillin” flavors are supposed to have a “cold” feeling. They aren’t the same. The originals are still available, and that’s all that matters.
2. Play-Doh
You know you went for it at least once. (Media credit/WikiMedia)
You don’t have to admit that you might have nibbled on the product of your Fun Factory. It’s OK. You ate the Doh. We know it.
We didn’t have clay growing up. We had Play-Doh. Originally created in the 1940s as a wallpaper cleaner, the makers soon realized kids were playing with it. Play-Doh was born. The product may have had its golden age slightly before our generation, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single kid our age (and by kid, we mean mid 20s) that didn’t play with Play-Doh growing up.
And don’t worry; it’s non-toxic.
3. Atomic Fireballs
15 million Fireballs are consumed weekly (Media credit/pgh_shutter/Flickr)
Round, red, hot. Nello Ferrara’s 1954 contribution to the candy world was extremely popular in the 80s and 90s when we were sucking them down, and we might still be found trying to talk to our boss with an Atomic Fireball that leaves our mouth red.
The company claims that 15 million atomic fireballs are consumed by Americans every week.
This is one of those things that, when we’re 50, we can tell our kids that “back in our day, Atomic Fireballs were a nickel. A NICKEL!”
Atomic Fireballs are part of the Jawbreaker family. There are also four flavors of Atomic Sourball.
4. Plastic
Everything we touched was made of plastic. (Media credit/Kat Gloor/Flickr)
Sippy cups. Action figures. Furniture. Buttons. Pens. Soda bottles. Baby dolls.
Almost every freakin thing we touched — and subsequently put in our months — as kids was made of plastic.
We were born in the plastic revolution. Do you know what they used to use before plastic? GLASS!
We didn’t use glass. The only things made of glass back in our day were Gatorade bottles.
One Blast editor said she can’t smell plastic without thinking of her Glo Worm, which she’d always have in her mouth as a child.
Plastic has since been vilified. You don’t even see plastic bags at the supermarket anymore.
5. Fundip and Pixy Stix
Pure, tooth-rotting sugar (Media credit/WikiMedia)
This is candy. Pure, tooth-rotting sugar that will make you bounce off the walls 20 minutes before you pass out from the crash.
Fun Dip has been on the market since 1942, when it was called Lik-M-Aid. We remember the stick is called Lik-A-Stix. It was white and flavorless, and that’s how we liked it. Willy Wonka Candy Company ruined Fun Dip by making the stick flavored in the modern era.
Fun Dip is the same sugar as Pixy Stix. Three flavors come in a package, separated, of course. The stick becomes a yucky mess.
Good times.
6. Candy Cigarettes
I never got the urge to smoke. (Media credit/WikiMedia)
In 1991 the government tried to ban candy cigarettes.
They failed, but the fun chalky pretend cigarettes with a red tip are all but gone now. The bubblegum ones were not very good because the paper tasted, well, like paper. The chalky candy ones were fun to suck on and pretend we were having a good ol’ smoke.
I never had the urge to actually smoke because of candy cigarettes.
According to Wikipedia, candy cigarettes are banned Finland, Norway, Ireland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia .
Still, it was fun to buy a pack whenever the ice cream truck came up the hill when I was a kid.
7. McDonald’s French Fries
Hey Jimmy, what did you win in the Monopoly game? OBESITY! (Media credit/Scorpions and Centaurs/Flickr)
McDonald’s used to cook with trans fats. I think it even used animal fat before our time.
French fries are God-awful for you. Dietitians will tell you that they’re one of the worst things you could possibly consume.
Fuck that.
OK, so I have gone a whole year without eating a single French fry, but McDonald’s French fries are the best French fries in the world, perhaps second only to the Glenwood Drive-In in Hamden, Connecticut.
They’ve tasted the same since we were kids. They’re delicious, and we’re all fat today because of them.
But…memories…
8. Big League Chew
It comes in a pouch! Cool! You mean they make tobacco in a pouch too? Gross! (Media credit/thinkjose/Flickr)
Here’s another attempt by big tobacco to get kids hooked, right?
Horseshit.
The only bad thing about Big League Chew was that the taste didn’t last very long, and you always had to go “dipping” for more.
The original was good, but I always bit down on a big wad of watermelon when I was on the pitcher’s mound in my little league glory days. My teeth ache at the memory of chewing down on a golf ball-sized wad of gum.
9. Sunny Delight
I don’t know what’s in Sunny D. I don’t wanna know what’s in Sunny D. All I know is that it was better than soda, OJ and that purple stuff, and it’s got healthy junk in it.
10. Old-School Doritos
75 cents! Back in my day!
Jesus Christ, is it any wonder we’re all out of shape?
But do you remember old-school Doritos? Before “Nacho Cheesier” and “Collisions” came to be? Back when it was just a cheesy corn chip?
Really, all you needed were Doritos, Fritos, some pretzels and maybe some Smartfood Popcorn, and you’ve got yourself a party!
There were some failed experiments. Remember Doritos 3D?
Plus, Doritos always has great Superbowl commercials.
What did I miss? Share your favorite reminiscent tastes in the comments section!
Blast columnist Lindsay Milgroom and writers Sam Peters and Brooklynne Peters contributed to this report
Candy Buttons! I used to eat them all the time as a kid. The buttons often took some of the paper they were attached to with them, but man were they good.