Taste the Explosion!

Today's long-overdue post is going to be about Pop Rocks! Why? Because this blog is dedicated to the issues and asking the hard questions. The current events. Investigative journalism. I'm Linda Ellerbee and you all are a  group of teenagers and this is Nick News. Gather 'round and let's discuss.

Actually, Pop Rocks were brought to my attention because some jokester thought it would be funny to have his 82 year old grandma try them for the first time and record her reaction for all the youtubers to see. It was pretty funny! I'll post it at the bottom. Thank you for the inspiration!

Pop rocks were invented by a General Mills research chemist in 1956. Let's stop here. Are most candies invented by scientists? I guess I've never really given the birth stories of my favorite candies much thought. I know that Willy Wonka has oompa loompas and a chocolate factory and that's where Nerds and Nerd Rope come from, but my knowledge stops there. But really, scientists? "Once I get the results back from the boys at the lab I'll know once and for all if my Sour Grape Chocolate Chews are ready for the world's consumption!" - A "White Coat" at the Hershey Factory.

While it was conceived in the mid-fifties, the product we know and love wasn't really on the market until the 1975 (in cherry, orange and grape). Wait, we need to stop again. Pop Rocks have been around since the 1970s? I sincerely had no idea. It seems like such a 90s product, even in its packaging and branding. Pop Rocks give me that grungy feel similar to Nirvana. Haha, or maybe it's just because I was first introduced to the candy in the 90s. Regardless, mind is blown. Additionally, the fact that it was around in the 1970s makes it even more ridiculous that an 82 year old woman has never tried it. Lady, you've had almost 40 years to experiment with the sizzle and pop. You really have no excuse.

Pop Rocks are essentially bits of sugar, corn syrup, and flavoring with tiny air pockets of carbonation...  that pop as it melts in your mouth. Neato!

When it first came out, folks were concerned about the safety of having this popping product in your mouth. Reasonable concern for something brand new in the candy world, I'd say. Despite the fact that extensive research and numerous tests were conducted to verify the safety of this product, the residents of Seattle, WA were still concerned. So much so that The Drug and Food Administration set up a telephone hotline to assure parents that nothing terrible would happen to their kids if they ate them. HAHA! That is hilarious. That's probably the best use of a hotline I've ever heard of. Could you imagine being hired to answer those calls? 

And then there's all those urban legends that we all know about regarding Pop Rocks. You know, like mixing soda with Pop Rocks will cause explosions in your stomach. Scary, totally far-fetched stuff. The rumors even said that Mikey from those old Life cereal commercials died from that.

These crazy rumors started just four years after the product came out! And people are still talking about Pepsi- Pop Rock tummy explosions! Apparently, the company spent LOADS to stop the rumors. From poprockcandy.com,

"They took out full-page ads in 45 major publications, wrote some 50,000 letters to school principals around the country, and sent the confection's inventor on the road to explain to all that Pop Rocks generate less gas than half a can of soda and ingesting them could induce nothing worse in the human body than a hearty, non-life-threatening belch. Despite all these measures, the rumors of the urban legend abound even to this day."

That really is crazy. Side note: check out the Pop Rocks website, apparently run by the company who makes Pop Rocks today? It's all purple and 90s, like it was made by someone with no web design experience. It even has one of those things that follows the clicker around. It says "Pop Rocks Candy...." in neon green. It's great stuff.

There you go! Now you and I both know more about Pop Rocks than we did 10 minutes ago! I'm Linda Ellerbee, good night!