Childhood Junk Food Part 2

By now, we all have established our favorite childhood junk foods. In part one, I shared with you a few of my favorites, but the conversation doesn't end there folks. Nope, there are still some real champions waiting their turn to be glorified! As I wrote this article, it seems that there may be even more quality favorites in this list, but really...is any childhood junk food more important than the other...I would like to think not. Okay, enough boring intro stuff, on to the goods....

That's right, I'm not wasting any time...The Oreo, simply a classic. I would like to have an exact count on how many Oreos I have consumed throughout the years, it would have to be in the millions, thousands, ok....hundreds at least! These cookies have become so legendary that the packaging even declares that the Oreo is milk's favorite cookie!! I am not sure when milk had the time to do such an interview, but he said it, and it's on the package...so it has to be true, right??

BIG LEAGUE CHEW! Three words that a kid should never forget. Even though I showed my love for Fruit Stripe in the first article, this gum was in a LEAGUE of its own. Big League Chew gave kids the chance to open up a pack of shredded gum resembling tobacco, giving us the chance to put in a big nasty dip like the big boys. Although our dip caused cavities instead of cancer, it still made us feel like men (or women), and grew a little hair on our chests...or was that dirt from playing outside?? Either way, Big League Chew was awesome, and can still be found here and there (if your lucky).

I know what you're thinking...you can buy that stuff in practically every store and vending machine around! Although you may be correct, Hawaiian Punch still holds such a place in my heart. I can recall the days of my Grandmother pouring Hawaiian Punch from the tin cans that you had to tear into with a can opener. Ah, such red fruit juicy goodness and shirt staining taste. It just seems to me, that these drinks don't taste as good as they used to. Maybe it just tasted better because I was a kid, or maybe Hawaiian Punch went cheap on their ingredients...no matter...it's wonderful. The only fruit drinks to ever give Hawaiian Punch competition was Ecto Cooler and Squeeze-Its. Unfortunately, these two childhood staples have been laid to rest...RIP. Long live Hawaiian Punch I suppose!

Hey look, it's Fun Dip! These packs of powered candy usually came with two flavors and a dipping stick. While you had the option to single dip, how much more fun was it to mix the two flavors together! I bought these things on several occasions after tee ball games, making them a childhood memory worth mentioning. Even if you didn't like Fun Dip, one thing was for sure; it was the only candy that could get away with a candy stick shaped like a pregnancy test...

I always enjoyed Blow Pops, they were just fun to eat. Throughout the years, there has been many flavors of Blow Pops introduced to us, but green apple and cherry reigned supreme with me. Not only did you get a tasty sucker, hidden within the center was some bubble gum! Give a kid some candy with gum inside, and you'll be their friends for life (in a non creepy way).

Well, if it's not Blow Pop's cousin...Tootsie Pop. Not too much to explain here, other than it's the same as a Blow Pop, but with a tootsie roll inside instead of bubble gum. However, there were a few different flavors, with the chocolate being my favorite. These two suckers were with me all throughout my childhood, and even here and there today.

Look at all that variety! Popsicle brand never let us down, they were always coming up with something new for us to consume. I remember all of the crazy commercials that went along with the products, usually featured on Nickelodeon or Fox Kids. Firecracker and Tornado were only a few of my favorites from Popsicle. Although they are no Fred Flintstone Push Ups, Popsicle treats were delicious and equally fun to look at.

I really enjoyed Laffy Taffy as a child. Mostly the banana Laffy Taffy, but all of the flavors were good. Laffy Taffy had a unique texture that was not offered in other taffy varieties such as Now and Laters and Star Burst...making them rather special in my book. Not only did you get tasty taffy, each wrapper came with corny jokes that I would bet my last dollar that Uncle Joey from Full House wrote himself. I am glad that the taffy was good, for it wouldn't have made it on the jokes alone!

One thing I could always count on as a kid, was a commercial about Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit by the Foot. Even though these fruit snacks were very similar to me, they each held such a different purpose. Fruit Roll-Ups gave us the option to eat fruit snacks in self peel out shapes such as stars, circles, or cartoon characters; while Fruit by the Foot simply allowed us to devour twelve inches of fruit flavored stickiness. These are still being shelved today, but I doubt they are half as fun as they were years ago. What will they come up with next?

Last but not least is one of my personal favorites..The ICEE! If you haven't had one of these frozen carbonated beverages, you are really missing out! I can remember going to Wal-Mart as a kid, and getting countless numbers of ICEE drinks. Whether you choose cherry or cola, you simply can't go wrong! Even though the polar bear on the front is in too much brain freeze pain to look you in the eye to sell his product, I am sure that he stands behind every cup of his delicious drink! I can say that the ICEE is still one of my favorite treats today, proving to me that the ICEE is indeed a true legend!

There you have it folks...my favorite childhood junk food items. The commercials, the packaging, the excitement of being a kid, it's hard to put it into words sometimes! As you may not agree with my choices, we can all agree that junk food helped shape our childhood memories, one piece of junk at a time.


Thanks to all the sites that I borrowed pictures from, you helped make this article possible!