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If you call yourself an older millennial, then you definitely grew up with Fruit Stripe gum, its wildly erratic zebra mascot, and the brightly colored sticks of gum with bold fruit flavors that lasted almost as long as it took you to read this sentence. Almost.

However, according to Fruit Stripe’s manufacturer, Ferrara Candy, the gum is being discontinued. (That’s big news to anyone who didn’t think it was discontinued about the time “Hannah Montana” went off the air.) “We have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum, but consumers may still be able to find the product at select retailers nationwide,” a Ferrara Candy representative said in a statement.

Fruit Stripe commercial from the 1960's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUKenR9k238

More: https://www.snackhistory.com/fruit-stripe-gum/

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[-] ArugulaZ@kbin.social 171 points 5 months ago

Fruit Stripe gum had the unfortunate distinction of being the most delicious thing you've ever put in your mouth, a total whirlwind of flavor... for five seconds. Then it's just sugar, then shortly after that, it's just nothing. It's like something Willy Wonka would have wished for on a monkey's paw.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 39 points 5 months ago

Don’t forget it smelled fantastic too.

[-] somethingsnappy@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

Don't tell anyone, but I have a pack I literally keep to smell. Do my kids know about it? Nope.

[-] MuhammadJesusGaySex@lemmy.world 34 points 5 months ago

As an older millennial this is the most amazing description of this gum that I wish I would have thought of.

[-] Raptor_007@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago

Man, that is perfect. Just thinking about it, I could mentally taste it. God only knows how long it’s been. It was a truly remarkable flavor.

[-] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

The taste I imagined was probably stronger than the taste after the first 5 seconds. Lol.

[-] GreenEnigma@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago

Never lasting gobstopper.

[-] NoIWontPickaName@kbin.social 14 points 5 months ago

It’s the crack of the gum world.

[-] Czarb@lemmy.world 66 points 5 months ago

Ah yes. The memories of a few minutes of flavor and a few more of sadness as you chew hoping it would return.

I'll never forget that time at 6yrs old when I just kept chewing. It eventually just disintegrated and I was left with the consistency of old wet kleenex. I had to literally scrape my tongue to get rid of it all.

[-] Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

You got the flavor to last for several minutes??! I swear it lasted maybe a dozen chews or so and then lost all flavor.

It looked like something that I really wanted to love, but within seconds it was pure disappointment.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

Good times!

[-] gregorum@lemm.ee 40 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It was gone five minutes after you put it in your mouth. But the memory is forever.

if you call yourself an old millennial

Shut up, that was some old-school Gen X shit.

Ugh, whatever

[-] Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

5 minutes? Try 10 seconds.

[-] KingJalopy@lemm.ee 5 points 5 months ago

Tried but it only lasted 6.3 seconds.

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[-] quicklime@lemm.ee 9 points 5 months ago

There was a short time around 1977, during which my wildest fantasy of the best and happiest thing that could possibly happen to me (short of truly fantastical and nigh-impossible things like going to Disneyland, which I wasn't yet sure really existed) would have been to receive multiple packs of Fruit Stripe gum.

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[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 37 points 5 months ago

It tasted really good for all of 10 seconds.

[-] MaxVoltage@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago
[-] SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

But it was a really good 10 seconds.

[-] WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

Did this stuff come with tattoos?

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

It did, on the insides of the wrappers. They never worked very well, and even if you could get one to transfer they tended to last about as long as the flavor in the gum itself did.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 6 points 5 months ago

When I found out they were food dye, I tried them on cookies and they worked so much better on food than on skin.

[-] Steveanonymous@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

I vaguely remember that

[-] Manifish_Destiny@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

I always gave myself a half sleeve while eating an entire pack

[-] rickyrigatoni@lemm.ee 11 points 5 months ago

i had fruit stripe gummies a few years ago and they tasted like ass rubbed with fruit

[-] MrJameGumb@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

I can't say I'm entirely surprised... I distinctly remember getting Fruit Stripe gum because it just looked so cool and being disappointed that it wasn't actually very good every time lol

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It was terrible then, and it's till terrible now. But I still buy a pack from the local dollar store every now and again, just for the nostalgia.

I guess we still have Bazooka Joe, at least for now.

[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago
[-] Uglyhead@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago

No no,.. tasted brilliant as fuck for,..2 minutes— then like shite.

[-] NucleusAdumbens@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

New favorite job title, from the article: "General Manager of the Sugar Portfolio at Ferrara Candy Company"

[-] DreadPirateShawn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 5 months ago

Yikes! Stripes. :'(

[-] Gingerlegs@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago
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[-] nullPointer@programming.dev 7 points 5 months ago

can we still chip our teeth on bazooka joe?

[-] USSEthernet@startrek.website 6 points 5 months ago

Wow the memories. Like everyone said, the flavor lasted for seconds at best. It's currently going for $140-200 for 12 packs on ebay.

[-] Fox@pawb.social 3 points 5 months ago

Incredible. It's the only gum I've ever tried that crumbled to bits when chewed. Even just bought, it was like it had been sitting in the Arizona sun for decades.

[-] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago
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this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2024
281 points (97.0% liked)

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