Food tagged with 60s

Apple Jacks

Neither flavored like apples nor shaped like jacks, Apple Jacks is similar to (and to some palettes, indistinguishable from) its more famous Kelloggsian cousin, Froot Loops. The crunchy little orange and green multigrain O's, famous for their sweetened non-apple taste, nevertheless remain a popular breakfast cereal among the all-important "children" group.

Astro Pop

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The Space Age was in full swing after World War II. Swift technological progress and widespread economic growth gave birth to a culture in love with rockets, space stations, and dreams of life on the moon. Every kid wanted to be an astronaut, and every week, a new toy or TV show was there to feed that dream. Spangler Candy of Bryan, Ohio, (founded in 1906) met this demand with the snazzy, rocket-shaped Astro Pop. This lollipop, a thin inverted cone of hard candy on stick, suggested a three-stage rocket: a red cherry-flavored lower section, a dark green lime middle, and a long yellow tip of lemon.

Astronaut Food

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Throughout most of the 20th century, it was no secret that dreams of space travel captured the hearts and imaginations of just about every tyke in existence. As the 60s arrived and astronauts started venturing out into this unexplored territory, one particular area of interest was the food that the astronauts took with them. And realizing some serious marketing potential here, numerous manufactures decided to give young consumers a taste of what these brave explorers were munching in their zero gravity environment.

Bazooka

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Okay, so Bazooka gum isn’t the first commercially produced bubble gum, nor is it the first to contain a comic strip on the wrapper. That hasn’t stopped it, however, from becoming an iconic candy for well over a half century. It’s about as American as apple pie and Chevrolet, with its patriotic red, white and blue wrapper and its availability in just about every drug store for a mere penny or two. As a result, it’s mere appearance unfailingly brings back fond memories of childhood to anyone who ever took a moment to read a Bazooka Joe comic or save up a stack of the wrappers to turn them in for a prize.

BB Bats

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Some candies are so teeth-adhesive that one wonders if a dentist invented them. And while the little rectangular suckers known as BB Bats might not have been invented by one of these white-coat-wearing sadists, they have probably made as many dentists smile as the kids that chomp into them.

Bit-O-Honey

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Chicago has long held a reputation as the candy capitol of the United States. And, in 1924, the Schutter-Johnson Company launched a unique new chew to the windy city, one that would delight children and dentists alike. Christened as the Bit-O-Honey, it was guaranteed to give a kid’s jaw muscles a workout like no other.

Bomb Pops

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For many a former kid, the arrival of summer coincided with the joyous ringing of faraway bells, ones that signified the approach of a little white truck, filled to the brim with frozen treats. And assuming your parents were generous with their spare change, you would soon come face to face with a vast menu of choices plastered on the side of the truck. With so many items to choose from, a great many gravitated loyally to the most patriotic of Popsicles - the Bomb Pop. Popular for over 50 years now, they have proven that they are as American as apple pie and Chevrolet.

Bubble Up

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Ah, the cool refreshing taste of lemon-lime flavored soda. For those who prefer that particular flavor combination, the mind probably wanders to one of the two iconic brands, 7-Up and Sprite. But nostalgic fans clearly remember another effervescent carbonated beverage that once completed the tasty lemon-lime trilogy, Bubble Up.

Candy Cigarettes

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Years before the public fully understood the dangers associated with smoking tobacco, it was glamorized to no end in movies and on television. And youngsters weren’t immune to the allure of their favorite hero suavely dangling a cigarette from his or her mouth. Eager to imitate the image, but a little too young for the real thing, we settled for candy cigarettes. Now a tyke could hang out on the street corner, a miniature James Dean or Bette Davis, showing that they too had what it took to look tough (fake pack rolled neatly in the sleeve of their shirt.) Eventually, of course, nicotine addiction became frowned upon and so did confectionery replicas of cigarettes, who finally lost their…cool.

Cap’n Crunch

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Of the many modern urban myths that tangentially involve breakfast foods, there is one universally accepted truth that has been handed down unchanged from successive generations since its inception in 1962. Unaffected by the march of time, immune to the threat of the frozen microwave breakfast brigade, this truth goes marching onward in the whispers of knowing children, and in the late-night binge by their parents who remember too late to save themselves: if you eat Cap’n Crunch too quickly, or for too long, you will experience the dreaded Cap’n Crunch Mouth. CCM is an unfortunate malady that shreds the gums and roof of the mouth, rendering the subject useless for the next four to eight hours. Depending on the severity of the damage and the sensitivity of the subject, one conceivably could suffer for several days, unable to chew anything more complicated than oatmeal, which, incidentally, is where Cap’n Crunch got his start.