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MEMORIES:
Stratoman remembers...A sugar rush packaged in a fun toy dispenser.... what more could a kid ask for? The candy wasn't exactly ... More »
Posted on 02/27/09
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Trivia:
“Seven PEZ Daily.”
Though it takes its name from the German word for peppermint, the one-time minty alternative to smoking has come to include a wide array of flavors from the standards lemon and grape to more unusual chocolate and “flower.” Though the “PEZ” is the candy, perhaps more of us know the brand by their fun and collectible method of delivery; The PEZ Dispenser.
Cartridges (usually) no bigger than a small pack of chewing gum are adorned with a character or themed “head.” It didn’t matter if you were a fan of Looney Tunes, Disney, or both – you could find your favorite characters (from Mickey and Minnie to Bugs and Daffy) spitting out candy at a flip of their head. There are over 450 different dispenser heads available. Heck, you could find one for the holidays - Christmas, Thanksgiving, Whacking Day, you name it! Star Wars fans, Boba Fett would like to give you a PEZ, too. Many a collegiate can find the school of their choice as a dispenser as well – the possibilities have been endless! Heck, with all the fun dispensers available, kids could have sweet playtime, bringing together Garfield with Betsy Ross and Papa Smurf. For those into PEZ trivia, or at least with a keen eye for observation, that’s right, PEZ dispensers didn’t always have feet. Starting around 1987, PEZ dispensers were sold with a “foot” base to give them stability to keep your ever-expanding collection from tumbling, giant-head over non-existent foot.
The best part about PEZ – the candy and the dispenser – was how easy and fun it was to use. At least until your brother cracked Wonder Woman’s head over the… Sigh. Personal tragedy prohibits us from reporting further, but suffice it to say that a little too much force easily led to a headless dispenser. Sad, sad times… but at least a spill didn’t mean a nasty mess with the neat little compressed candies. Spring-loading it into the dispenser properly was important, but easy to do once someone showed you how to carefully feed the pellets of sugar magic into the character’s nearly-headless neck.
The PEZ fan base is large, with a trading community that keeps countless websites and blogs devoted to their favorite candy. References in movies (Toy Story) television shows (Seinfeld) and music (Less Than Jake) ensure that the PEZ tradition will continue to live on, from generation to generation. Now, if we could just complete our collection…
