The 80’s were a huge time of microwaveable instant dinners and artificially flavored fruit snacks. Admittedly, many of these snacks are nostalgic, and we would give anything just to stray away from adult life and go back to the times when we could eat these snacks again, even for just a day. But when we think about it, some of these snacks can be odd. Imagine eating a can of mystery meat while sipping a sugary, bright-colored fruit drink. Let’s revisit some 80s snacks that didn’t quite live up to the hype.
15. Giant OREOS
Many of us dream of eating giant OREOS as kids, but if you were born in the ’80s, these dreams are made into reality. Back then, kids had the OREO Big Stuf, which are individually packaged OREOS in the the size of your palm.
14. Sloppy Joes
Burgers are a favorite fast food staple of many, including people back in the 80’s. But since food companies are trying to create fast food meals that can easily be made at home, they’re trying to innovate formulas to do so, and one of them is Libby’s. The Libby’s Sloppy Joes in can are a huge hit among young consumers as it was being served at school cafeterias back then. It features ground beef with a barbecue sauce that can be sandwiched in a burger bun as it’s made to resemble a patty meat. Can you imagine eating a canned ground pork that you don’t even know what that mashed meat is?
13. Beverage Flavored Gums
Do you remember those bubble gums with beverage flavors in them? They come in flavors of Dr. Pepper, 7UP, and Cherry 7UP. There’s nothing wrong with a beverage turned into a chewable, but it gets weirder. The gums are square in shape and feature a liquid center to replicate the taste of its beverage flavor, which is a bit odd. Why not drink that beverage in cans instead, right?
12. Bubble Gum Soda
Back in the ‘80s, Hubba Bubba decided to capitalize on its popularity by creating the Hubba Bubba soda in, of course, bubble gum flavor. They were actually pulled out of the shelves due to low sales. But what’s hiding underneath is the undesirable taste of a bubble gum-flavored soda being too artificial. Who would want to drink an artificially flavored soda with too much sugar, right?
11. Popping Candy
Do you remember having these crystal-like powdered candies that pop into your mouth? Those were the Pop Rocks that became popular back in the ’70s until the ’80s when they reached their downfall in 1982. The reason? A popular urban legend about the Life Cereal kid, Mikey, from “Mikey Likes It,” whose stomach exploded from the excess gas due to eating Pop Rocks with Coca-Cola. Although General Foods, the creator of Pop Rocks, tried to shut the rumor down, the negative publicity weighed the product down until they had to pull it from the shelves in 1982.
10. Tobacco Gums
Remember those Big League shrewd bubble gums you had as a kid? The shrewd concept is odd, but what’s even more questionable is how this kid’s candy was made to resemble chewing tobacco. This wasn’t actually the plan when they were created by former New York Yankee All-Star Jim Bouton because he had good intentions with it. They were made as a healthy imitation of the tobacco-chewing habits that are common among ball players like him.
9. Powdered Juice Candy
One of the weirdest candy concepts out there is Pixy Stix, which was huge in the ‘80s. They were originally made to be like Kool-Aid juice powders where kids could mix them in water. But seeing that kids enjoyed a sweet-tart powder, the creator, J. Fish Smith, added a spoon in its packaging so kids could eat the powder straight out. Thinking about eating powdered juices is kind of odd when you think about it.
8. Green Slime Juice
The popularity of Ghostbusters has brought the Hi-C Ecto Cooler, which was huge back in the 80s. They were these orange-flavored juices in tetra packs, which at first isn’t weird at all — until you open the pack and see that the juice is color green. Since it’s a collaboration between Ghostbusters, it resembles the slimy green monster character Slimer. Now, would you imagine drinking green-flavored slime for juice?
7. Jawbreakers
I’m sure that every one of us had Jawbreaker gums from our childhood, but its peak was actually in the ’80s and ’90s. It’s this huge white bubble gum that ranges from 1-3 cm. A chick flick thriller film was actually made in its honor, which bears the same name as Jawbreaker. It was about a group of friends covering up the accidental death of their friend from a prank gone wrong after swallowing a whole jawbreaker gum. Yes, it’s actually deadly, so beware.
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6. Bubble Jug
The ’80s were a huge time for bubble gum innovations, and one of them was Hubba Bubba’s Bubble Jug. Like Pixi Stix, they’re in the form of powder candy nuggets, but when you chew the powder, it becomes gum. They were relaunched this year, so you can get them in stores if you want to taste this unique game.
5. Diet Candy
The Ayds candy is a weight-loss candy that promises its consumers to lose their appetite for eating. Aside from the unpalatable reviews of its taste, consumers are quick to point out how it has the same name as the AIDS virus, which led to a decline in its sales.
RELATED: 12 Best Discontinued Food Snacks From the 1990s
4. Slime Toothpaste Bubble Gum
Since Ghostbusters was a huge hit in the 1980s, more food snacks were released following the theme — and it gets weirder from there. Between 1986-1989, a Ghostbusters-themed gum was released featuring the character Slimer. The green slime is made to be in the form of bubble gum with a toothpaste-like consistency and it’s packaged in a toothpaste tube.
3. Fire Stix
Who doesn’t love the fruity flavors of Jolly Rancher? They were a hit and it still continues to dominate candy shelves at your local stores. However, they had this odd creation back in the ’80s, and they call it Fire Stix. They were these red taffy sticks which are cinnamon flavored, and they were said to be too fiery spicy that it ends up burning your tongue.
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2. Healthy/Diet Frozen Food
Many of you would probably remember rummaging through the freezer and seeing your Mom’s stacked Lean Cuisine boxes. These were the huge diet fads back in the ‘80s of frozen dinners that were packaged as meat, vegetables, ensaladas, pizzas; you name it. They were actually healthier options than the usual frozen packaged meals and were marketed around women. But when you think about it, how can a frozen meal be marketed as healthy, right? Still, nothing beats a home-cooked meal.
1. Jell-O Salad
Better ask your grandmothers on this one; we’re pretty sure that they have kept a Jell-O Salad recipe in their cookbooks. Yup, you read that right. Those salad greens that we’re enjoying today were once coated with Jell-O gelatines. As horrifying as it sounds, Jell-O was served on special occasions in the 1980s. With just the magic of a flavored Jell-O gelatin mix and your usual greens of lettuce and tomatoes, you’re bound to create this one-of-a-kind salad. Thankfully, they went to a downfall in the late 80s as people realized that they prefer real food over gelatin mixes.
RELATED: The 10 Best Discontinued Snacks From the 1980’s
From The Club
Whew! It was taking a trip down memory lane. But let’s be honest—some of these snacks are probably best left in the past. While I admit some snacks are odd, they’re cool enough, like those Giant OREOS (as an OREO-obsessed gal) and Tobacco Gums, which have good intentions, but they just fell in the wrong crowd of kids. Hopefully, brands will create snacks that are less on the artificial side and more on natural sweeteners.
