Happy National Twinkie Day! Remember when they tragically pulled the iconic snack from shelves a few years back? We're thanking our lucky cream-filled stars we're even able to celebrate this holiday today. Let's make it worthwhile, shall we? Sure these bad boys have been around for ages, but how much do you really know about those sweet, cakey logs of love? We rounded up all the wild and weird facts nobody thinks about when they're about to dig into that spongey goodness. Rip open a box and read on.
1. The world's oldest Twinkie is over 40. Back in the '70s, a chemistry teacher by the name of Roger Bennatti left a Twinkie sitting out on his chalkboard for the purpose of understanding the rotting of processed foods. Bangor Daily News says, he kept the Twinkie in its place for 30 freakin' years. Now, after his retirement, the ancient snack food is currently chilling in a glass case at George Stevens Academy in Maine. Would you?
2. Old Twinkie boxes were pretty adorable. So vintage. So chic. We can't say that Twinkie cowboy got any less creepy over the years, though. Back in the day, it was recommended that Twinkies be served with either ice cream (yes, please) or fruit. Honestly, when you're in the middle of the Twinkie experience, are you really thinking how well it would go with a heaping side of honeydew? Oh, and in case you didn't know, the mascots name is Twinkie the Kid. So...badass?
3. Speaking of throwbacks, vintage Twinkie commercials were actually terrifying. Maybe not all of them, but certainly this one featuring your grandparent's favorite characters from the old show Howdy Doody. What about that clown thing screams tasty?!
4. The cakey treats were originally banana cream filled. Doesn't sound half bad! Fox News Magazine says the fruit filling was stopped when a banana shortage hit during WWII. As a result, the company switched to the vanilla cream filling we all know and love. Evidently, Hostess brought back the banana flavored filling for the DVD release of King Kong in 2006. See what they did there?
5. There is such a thing as a Twinkie law. Hashtag Fact. According to The New York Post, a Minneapolis, Minnesota city council candidate basically tried to make himself look good by providing older voters with $34.13 in treats that included Twinkies. Sounds sweet, but he actually got into a bit of trouble. After the debacle was over, the state passed a campaign finance law called "the Twinkie law" to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.
6. Someone went on an actual Twinkie diet. Back in 2010, Mark Haub, a nutrition professor, went on a Twinkie diet for ten weeks. Huffington Post says he only ate food from convenience stores (including Twinkies) and ended up losing weight instead of gaining. Haub lost 27 freaking pounds to be exact. So what you're saying is, Twinkies are the new kale?
7. A ten-foot Twinkie once existed. The Continental Baking Company celebrated Twinkies 50th birthday right. They whipped up a giant Twinkie, which ended up weighing over a ton. To put that into perspective, if you ate the whole thing, you'd later be puking roughly 32,300 Twinkies. No thanks.
8. There was once a Shrek-flavored Twinkie. Technically the filling was called "ogre green" but what does that even mean? Other flavors over the years have included blue raspberry, banana split, orange "s'cream" (for Halloween of course) and even pumpkin spice. Oh, did we mention those Ghostbusters Twinkies with "key-lime slime" filling? Into it.
9. This kid sent a Twinkie into space and then ate it. For real. Forget key-lime slime! This is the wildest Twinkie out there. In the video above, you can see then 14-year-old Geoff eating a Twinkie he sent into space via his "high altitude balloon project." We seriously have to wonder how that Twinkie tastes.
10. Twinkies share an ingredient with glue. Sorry to end this on a gross note, but let's be real, is this actually going to stop you from eating another one? Probs not. TodayIFoundOut.com says certain glues and the Hostess snack contain corn dextrin. This ingredient can be found on the sticky part of an envelope while also being responsible for the Twinkies finger-licking outer layer. [Insert sticky-sweet pun here].
Did we leave out any important Twinkie facts? Tell us a few more in the comments!
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