A Place Called Roam
  • Home
  • Tao of Travel
  • The Best Of
  • Archives
  • About
  • Contact Me

PERPETUATING URBAN MYTHS AT CHICAGO'S MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY

3/13/2014

 
He looked good, all things considered.  I felt a momentary twinge of nostalgia. 

We’d lost touch after college; separate paths, new interests, different lifestyles; marriage, kids, commitments. 

I’d heard he’d nearly died back in 2012.  His status as an urban legend would have simply faded away.

No way!  Some might say he’s just a cream puff, but most know him to be made of much sturdier stuff.  Stuff like . . .
. . .  monoglyceride, diglyceride, and sodium stearoyl lactylate.  

Yes, that urban legend would have us all believe the Twinkie contains enough ingredients (37) to survive a nuclear attack or outlast mankind (check out Pixar’s adorable animated movie, WALL-E, if you don’t believe me).   

The folks at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry seemed eager to test the theory.  There was Twinkie, basking in the limelight of the YOU! The Experience exhibit, sans cellophane no less!   
Picture
How sweet it is! Or better yet, how sweet is it after all these years?
This particular Twinkie has been basking since October 8, 2009. 
Picture
Sorry; horrid picture. I was down to cell phone pics after exhausting both batteries in my camera.
Yes, despite his years (four years, four months, twenty-three days and counting) the day I was there in February, this spongy paragon of unhealthy snack foods still looked pretty good.   

Apparently Chicago’s Twinkie (a home boy for sure, born and bred in River Forest, Illinois on April 6, 1930 by one James Alexander Dewar, manager for the Continental Baking Company) is not alone when it comes to perpetuating the shelf life of this urban legend.

President Bill Clinton and the White House Millennium Council selected this “enduring American icon” to be preserved in the nation’s millennium time capsule in 1999.  And all this time I thought Clinton would have opted for preserving a burger and some fries!   

But undoubtedly the record for Twinkie longevity would have to go to Roger Bennatti’s 37-year-old not-so-spongy cream-filled cake.    Following his retirement in 2004, Bennatti bequeathed his science experiment on decay (or lack thereof) in preserved foods to George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Maine, where his Twinkie had been a fixture in his classroom, circa 1976. Said Twinkie, now sans cellophane, proudly sits under glass in Dean Libby Rosemeier’s office at George Stevens Academy.  Ms. Rosemeier was a student of Bennatti’s, there the day the Twinkie, now quite possibly the oldest Twinkie in the world, was placed atop Bennatti’s blackboard.

In the course of preparing this post, I found it necessary to purchase this snack we seem to equally abhor and adore.  Mind you, research is often part of my blogging. 
Picture
Shouldn't it read, "The SWEETEST COMEBACK in the history of FOREVER?
Yes, it has been years since Twinkie and I shared company.

Those years have seen this quintessential American snack food shrink a bit. Haven’t we all.  Longevity, Twinkie or otherwise, is often bittersweet. 
Picture
Today's Twinkies are 4 grams smaller and have 15 less calories. Isn't science amazing!
After all these years, things just weren't the same for Twinkie and me.  
Picture
After the fresh Paczski last week, there was no hope for the Twinkie with a shelf life of 45 days.
It had been a mistake to think I could relive those sweet memories of yesteryear. 
Picture
Empty promises.
As far as I was concerned, this was definitely not the SWEETEST COMEBACK in the history of EVER! 

My Jimmy?

He's my SWEETEST COMEBACK story EVER!  
Picture
Just whisper sweet nothings in my ear, Jimmy, AFTER you finish eating your Twinkie.
Diane link
3/14/2014 11:31:14 am

MY My my, we are getting desperate with these blogs aren't we?
I liked the bit of nostalgia though.

Sherry
3/14/2014 12:41:09 pm

Actually, more like desperate for some sweets!


Comments are closed.

    About

    I'm searching for more meaning, magic and mystery in life through travel.  If you're searching for more info about me click on this link.   

    Categories

    All
    Attractions
    Botanic Gardens
    Cities
    Cruises
    Culture
    Europe
    Food
    Fun Foto Friday
    How You Venn?
    Islands
    Lake Geneva
    Life's Mysteries
    Middle East
    Museums/Memorials
    National Historic Landmark
    North America
    Nothing To Do With Travel
    Parks/zoos
    Photos
    Random Thoughts
    Restaurants
    This Thing Called Travel
    Top Ten
    Tuesday Travelista
    UNESCO World Heritage Site
    Who Knew?
    Zen Travel Moment

    View travelbug's photos on Trover

    Blog Roll

    This Is Indexed
    NatGeo Travel
    Science Dump
    Traveler Writers Exchange
    Matador 
    Brain Pickings
    House By the Sea
    Time Goes By
    The Happiness Project
    Dictionary of Obscure 
       Sorrows

    For Automatic Blog Updates
    in same time click the RSS Feed button below and sign up for email notices or click the Like button below for automatic updates to your Facebook page. 

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly