# Extinct foods



## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

I was in a supermarket today, and saw liver in the meat case. It occurred to me that restaurants used to serve liver, but it has all but disappeared from menus. Not that I'm missing it or anything, (YUCK) but got thinking about different stuff we used to see but are no longer in fashion.

If you're Jewish, derma at a wedding or bar mitzvah was a menu standard, but people would be embarrassed to serve the stuff these days.

Long ago, I was a fan of Dannon prune whip yogurt. It was much better than it sounds, and I haven't seen it around in years. They used to sell yogurt in cups made of cardboard with wax. In the old trusting days, there was no safety seal.

Have a favourite missed food?


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

MissGulch, you're seeing just a small part of the larger problem: an ever-diminishing quantity of biodiversity in agriculture....

United Nations FAO

UNESCO


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

More a case of shifting tastes into some sort of mainstream. You don't buy it--they don't grow or process it.


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

CubaMark said:


> MissGulch, you're seeing just a small part of the larger problem: an ever-diminishing quantity of biodiversity in agriculture....
> 
> United Nations FAO
> 
> UNESCO


I don't see the disappearance of liver in restaurants as a problem. Supermarkets today carry more food variety than they used to, at least where I am. There is tremendous diversity of foods from all over, reflecting a very diverse population.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

I had liver and onions when I was in England. I will not be having it again. Maybe it has something to do with my experience.:lmao:


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## skinnyboy (Oct 7, 2007)

Popcorn Twists

I used to eat a bag of these when I was a kid spending the day at the local public pool.

I think they're used for packing sensitive electronic equipment now.

On a more serious note...

I haven't really noticed anything missing but I do notice that despite claims of diversity in food selection at the local super-market a lot of it still comes packaged with the same preservatives and other crap added. Not a lot of "pure" foods to be found. Then there's other stuff like twenty different sauces in the "asian" section that all kinda taste the same...

But just when you think it's all the same everywhere, I was at a higher end restaurant with my wife a few weeks back and the specials of the day were rabbit and lamb. I went for the lamb - awesome. Had the kids been with us we would've had to scour the menu for chicken fingers and fries.

Fortunately, my wife likes to can foods, make jams and jellies (rare amongst her age group I think) and we both like to cook good food. Making stuff from scratch (or as close as you can get to it) is time consuming but worth it.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

It also tends to be the best-tasting stuff you can eat. Most people think they're too busy in their lives to eat less processed, out-of-the-box foods. More's the pity.

There's a really cool Asian grocery down on Cherry St. on this city's waterfront. Some great stuff, but the same kind of homogenizing of product is going on there, too. Many of the same ingredients are devoted to preserving/extending/enhancing taste, etc - probably by virtue (at least partially) of the distances much of it travels in order to hit the shelves here. They do have cooler packaging, though - great colours and anime characters. And there's some awesome produce, too - at much better prices than the local Loblaws.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Two words: beef tongue.



.


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## JumboJones (Feb 21, 2001)

HowEver said:


> Two words: beef tongue.
> 
> 
> 
> .


The restaurant I worked at had a pickled beef tongue on their lunch menu, quite tasty actually. 

I still have close ties to the restaurant industry and it's funny a lot of things we ate growing up are making their way to the menu but with higher class appeal. Even if you watch the food network you'll see new spins on old favourites.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

Fried Dodo burgers and a side of brontosaurus omelettes


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

I had a beef tongue sandwich once at a deli on McCaul St., maybe in 1981 or so. Once I got around the conceptualizing stage, it was pretty good. But you're right; I haven't seen any since.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Allow me a clarification...

You may be seeing, in your local supermarket, a wider variety of food-types than you had previously. What you are seeing is a mainstreaming of food genomes. 

There are several hundred (thousand) genetically-distinct types of tomato, but what makes it to the dinner plates of most North Americans originates from only a handful of varieties (if that many). 

That diminishment of diversity, much as has happened with corn crops, places the survival of the species in a precarious position - at the whim of man, his genetic modifications and improved pesticides against disease. (FYI, the tomato originated in Peru - who knew?)


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

One of the specialities at a local family eatery (non-alcoholic, BTW) is liver and onions.

OMG, more then you can eat.

There is ALWAYS a line-up to get in too. Great food, and massive portions.

Tongue, I have had. Not for a while, but it has a nice flavour and texture. What's the problem???


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

I love beef tongue and turkey bums (Pope's noses).


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

i have liver every now and then. Last Sunday wife bought organic lamb liver and we cooked a sort of a sheppard pie for the baby. She loved it. two days ago i bought a pound of fancy pate with pepper, have some left still. But that was unusual, we usually make our own pate. Last november, i gave my sis a birth certificate for a foie gras class at a 5 star hotel in Paris. So yeah, i dig liver. Used to buy tons of it for pate and such over a decade ago, but now i reduced consumption to organic or trustworthy sources of the stuff.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

I myself had a nice hunk of liverwurst on Monday.

But, be cautioned, organ meats are way high in cholesterol, and so should be consumed in moderation.


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## Sitting Bull (Feb 4, 2008)

Still no problems finding liver here in Alberta . Had some not to long ago.
What I miss and have not seen since the 80's is sweetbreads. When the good french bistro's were popular here, most served it.


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

oh, THE BEST lamb tongue sandwich in Toronto:

Red Rose,or Rose on yonge st east side (south of steeles). Place looks crappy, but to take out a tongue sandwich is to go to heaven.


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

blood sausage. the best in town gets a 4/10. awful
Vasc blood sausage, there isn't any.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

Ah, but if you can find a butcher shop that "renders" their own beef, "Black Pudding" can still be had.

I hope.

I actually got the Ex to cook it a couple of times.

The fat globs in it was somewhat off-putting to her though. LOL


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## skinnyboy (Oct 7, 2007)

gastonbuffet said:


> i have liver every now and then. Last Sunday wife bought organic lamb liver and we cooked a sort of a sheppard pie for the baby. She loved it. two days ago i bought a pound of fancy pate with pepper, have some left still. But that was unusual, we usually make our own pate. Last november, i gave my sis a birth certificate for a foie gras class at a 5 star hotel in Paris. *So yeah, i dig liver.* Used to buy tons of it for pate and such over a decade ago, but now i reduced consumption to organic or trustworthy sources of the stuff.


With a nice Chianti I presume?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

And fava beans. Hey, I like your new avatar, Ottawaman! One thing I miss from childhood was Cinnamon Danish bars. There were white chocolate with a red line drizzled around, about the size and shape of an Oh! Henry. Also, whatever happened to MoJos?


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

fjnmusic said:


> Also, whatever happened to MoJos?


I don't know, but the local variety store always had a bin of them at three for a cent. I remember when Trudeau did something, and then they went up to two for a cent - I'll never forgive that bastard!

What ever happened to Lolas? Or the Kisko's that had the straw on one side, and the block of ice on the other? But the thing I miss are the triticale crackers I used to have at lunch in the summer when I was a kid. The stores used to carry some kind of 'cheese' goo in a tube that one squoze out of a side cap, and they had 'meat' as well, but I can't remember what it was called. It was all so very 70's.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

gastonbuffet said:


> i gave my sis a* birth certificate* for a foie gras class at a 5 star hotel in Paris.


What, you have to be a minimum age to get into the place, mebbe she needed the fake ID?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

EvanPitts said:


> I don't know, but the local variety store always had a bin of them at three for a cent. I remember when Trudeau did something, and then they went up to two for a cent - I'll never forgive that bastard!
> 
> What ever happened to Lolas? Or the Kisko's that had the straw on one side, and the block of ice on the other? But the thing I miss are the triticale crackers I used to have at lunch in the summer when I was a kid. The stores used to carry some kind of 'cheese' goo in a tube that one squoze out of a side cap, and they had 'meat' as well, but I can't remember what it was called. It was all so very 70's.


Squeeze-a-snack, I think it was. Kind of like Ozonal on a cracker.


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

The Fluffer-nutter. White marshmallow goo (I think) that you spread onto a peanut butter sandwich. 

You would have this with your Tang because it's what the astronauts drank in space.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Boy, we got really sick drinking vodka and Tang screwdrivers once.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

Vodka and something called Donald Duck orange juice.

Out of a can. XX) 

But I think is was the brandy after, in a high-ball glass, that did me in.

Now I want a Kilkenny. :clap:


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Kilkenny... now there's a nice bevvy. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Sorry, what were we talking about?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Omigod! They kilkenny! You [email protected]@rds!


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

A work in progress, but I will 'endeavour to preserver'.


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## johnb1 (Aug 6, 2006)

*Here's one for you*

Thunder crunch potato chips, and Black Bart chewing gun (tasted like licorice)
oh, and real mountain dew/vault (only around for about 9 months, then cancelled-Pepsi didn't make enough money on it)


JB


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## jeepguy (Apr 4, 2008)

HowEver said:


> Two words: beef tongue.
> 
> 
> 
> .


That reminds me of a joke.

Beef tongue !! I couldn't eat something from an animals mouth.
Would you like an egg.


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## ComputerIdiot (Jan 8, 2004)

Honey butter. Haven't seen it in the stores in at least a decade.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

Hey, a reminder.

My Grandmother used to make a wicked lemon butter.

SOOOOOO good. :clap:


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

fjnmusic said:


> And fava beans. Hey, I like your new avatar, Ottawaman! One thing I miss from childhood was Cinnamon Danish bars. There were white chocolate with a red line drizzled around, about the size and shape of an Oh! Henry.


There was a Lemon Danish as well. Around the time of Choco-Lotto.



fjnmusic said:


> Squeeze-a-snack, I think it was. Kind of like Ozonal on a cracker.


Loved cutting the little star into the nozzle!



MissGulch said:


> The Fluffer-nutter. White marshmallow goo (I think) that you spread onto a peanut butter sandwich.


Still available!



EvanPitts said:


> What ever happened to Lolas? Or the Kisko's that had the straw on one side, and the block of ice on the other? But the thing I miss are the triticale crackers I used to have at lunch in the summer when I was a kid.


Lolas have resurfaced, but smaller. Kisko is still here, minus the straw. The triticale crackers were called Triscuits.



johnb1 said:


> Black Bart chewing gun (tasted like licorice) oh, and real mountain dew/vault (only around for about 9 months, then cancelled-Pepsi didn't make enough money on it)


Black Cat gum tasted like that too. Mountain Dew Energy is still missed, but the new Pepsi Max isn't bad.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Big John's Beans 'n Fixin's. Yup.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

The Doug said:


> Big John's Beans 'n Fixin's. Yup.


That was the one with the two can system--the little tin was taped to the top and contained--what fixins? Extra sauce?


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Tomato sauce with molasses, onions and a bunch of other ingredients. There are recipes to be found on various websites, like here.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I remember "Big John" rattling off three different styles. "Satisfies every appetite...even...Big...John"


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Corned Beef Brisket . . .

Bought a hunk inna bag and boiled it onna BBQ this weekend, then sliced 'er up thin and layered it onna big crusty bun with hot mustard.

To die for people!


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Anyone remember a whole cooked chicken packed in a 64-oz juice tin? I think you were supposed to tke it camping or something. I remember switching labels with apple juice once, and got heck when my mother poured a glass full of poultry fat.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

Me!! Me!!

Was camping with a bud, and he popped this "thing" from a can into a pot. Ugh.

I passed on eating the result. He got food poisoning.


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## ComputerIdiot (Jan 8, 2004)

iJohnHenry said:


> Hey, a reminder.
> 
> My Grandmother used to make a wicked lemon butter.
> 
> SOOOOOO good. :clap:



Wouldn't by any chance have the recipe, would you?


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## hhk (May 31, 2006)

Thrills chewing gum. Tasted like soap.

There was also this really bad, chemical tasting orange drink that used to cost 5 cents when a pop was 10 cents. It was non carbonated. Came in a translucent plastic bottle. Wish I could remember the name.

Anyone remember the name of the candy popcorn in a box that had an elephant printed on it? I think it came in blue and pink "flavours".

Do they still make Swanson's TV dinners? Do they still have peach cobbler for desert?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

hhk said:


> Thrills chewing gum. Tasted like soap.
> 
> There was also this really bad, chemical tasting orange drink that used to cost 5 cents when a pop was 10 cents. It was non carbonated. Came in a translucent plastic bottle. Wish I could remember the name.
> 
> ...


Mmm! I remember how the taste of the aluminum pan would get absorbed into all the food. Tasty! Especially the salisbury steak one, and the peas would inevitably crawl into the apple cobbler and the metallic mashed potatoes.

Also, does anyone remember chuckwagon dinners?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Or how about Freakies cereal? Under the Freakies tree? Never tasted 'em, but I sure wanted to, seeing them on Saturday morning cartoon channels all the time. Apparently, they were made by Purina.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

hhk said:


> Anyone remember the name of the candy popcorn in a box that had an elephant printed on it? I think it came in blue and pink "flavours".


Lucky Elephant is still being made in a retro-looking box.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

fjnmusic said:


> Or how about Freakies cereal? Under the Freakies tree? Never tasted 'em, but I sure wanted to, seeing them on Saturday morning cartoon channels all the time. Apparently, they were made by Purina.


We love our Freakies cereal
Darling you know we do
We love our Freakies Cereal
It's so good for me and you.

You can catch a lot of these ads on YouTube now, including the Freakies Tree:

YouTube - FREAKIES Cereal Commercial 1973 "the very first one"


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

How about Wigwam bars? Pretzel-shaped carmel taffee coated in milk chocolate? Not sure how they related to aboriginal culture exactly, but man, they were delicious.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Wigwam=Wigwag?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

By gosh, you're right, McFury. Seems they transmogrified into Curly-Wurly's in England. I do so miss them. Kind of like Scor bars, but chewier.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

ComputerIdiot said:


> Wouldn't by any chance have the recipe, would you?


Sorry, she is long-gone, and apparently took the recipe with her.


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

BTW Popcorn twists are still alive and kicking in Western Canada under the Old Dutch label. 

However I do miss good old corn chips. Don't know if they started sneaking in GMO corn, but nowadays they give me stomach cramps. Almost the only "food" that does.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Anyone remember the cake in a can stuff? It was quite moist, and was full of nuts and raisins. We used to have it when we were camping.

Do they still have "shelf milk"? It was some kind of milk that came in a tetra-pac, and you could keep it in the cupboard for six months or something.

They used to have this kind of dried jellied fruit that was rolled up thin with cellophane, which we took camping quite often.

And they used to have some chocolate bars advertised by Donnie and Marie Osmond - I can't recall the names, something like Almond Mounds and Joy bar, I don't know if they are still around.

Anyone remember Grape, Orange and Cherry flavoured potato chips? One would probably have to be from The Hammer, since this is where they test marketed that garbage.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Mr. Pitts; They test-marketed those chips in my neck-of as well. Dreadful! I tried the orange chips. Like potato chips with Tang on them. When the guy who ran the variety store saw the expression on my face, he offered to refund my money--said they were all going back on the Hostess truck that afternoon.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

They were one kind of food that deserved extinction. They used to have dill pickle ones as well that were pretty much salt. I think they had to stop making them because there was a shortage of salt for the 401...


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## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

Home delivered Pop Shoppe drinks and snacks?
The plastic case of 24 bottles and a huge 10 gallon can of BBQ chips. Those were the days. 

POM Toasties? They were corn bread baked as a round, crumpet sized, toaster-heated morning treat. With real butter. (drools)


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

EvanPitts said:


> They were one kind of food that deserved extinction. They used to have dill pickle ones as well that were pretty much salt. I think they had to stop making them because there was a shortage of salt for the 401...


Unfortunately those still exist. For some reason every variety of chip except plain contains MSG which is all it takes to keep me from trying them. I am really much happier without a headache.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

7-Up Gold, spicy like ginger beer.
Crush Strawberry Soda and Apple Soda.
Hunt's Bakery and all it entailed.


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

What about the attempt at carbonated chocolate milk - Pure Spring I think was the company.... Didn't last long!


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## Rock Lobster (May 15, 2002)

hhk said:


> There was also this really bad, chemical tasting orange drink that used to cost 5 cents when a pop was 10 cents. It was non carbonated. Came in a translucent plastic bottle. Wish I could remember the name.


Was it "Beep"?


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

eMacMan said:


> Unfortunately those still exist. For some reason every variety of chip except plain contains MSG which is all it takes to keep me from trying them. I am really much happier without a headache.


It's all about the additives. They are going gung-ho on forcing manufacturers to cram palm oil into pretty much everything these days. I don't think anyone is using canola anymore. I don't know why they have to cram MSG into everything, the amount of salt is bad enough without adding another kind of salt.

Recently extinct food includes Breyer's Ice Cream - which is now "Frozen Dessert" because it contains neither ice or cream - but is crammed to the max with palm oil. Once the rest of the industry catches on, there won't be a scoop of ice cream outside of a heritage village...


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Macfury said:


> 7-Up Gold, spicy like ginger beer.
> Crush Strawberry Soda and Apple Soda.
> Hunt's Bakery and all it entailed.


Also - Cherry Coke, Grape Nehi, Faygo Red Pop.
What ever happened to Colt '45 beer or Molson Diamond?
National Bakery is extinct as well. Future Bakery is still around, but I have no idea what happened to their bakery because the last time we were in Koreatown, the bakery was a restaurant.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

There are preservatives in everything you eat, and people are living longer. Coincidence?




EvanPitts said:


> It's all about the additives. They are going gung-ho on forcing manufacturers to cram palm oil into pretty much everything these days. I don't think anyone is using canola anymore. I don't know why they have to cram MSG into everything, the amount of salt is bad enough without adding another kind of salt.
> 
> Recently extinct food includes Breyer's Ice Cream - which is now "Frozen Dessert" because it contains neither ice or cream - but is crammed to the max with palm oil. Once the rest of the industry catches on, there won't be a scoop of ice cream outside of a heritage village...


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

fjnmusic said:


> Boy, we got really sick drinking vodka and Tang screwdrivers once.


I think I just threw up a little in my mouth when i read that.


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

EvanPitts said:


> I don't know why they have to cram MSG into everything, the amount of salt is bad enough without adding another kind of salt.


MSG is a flavor enhancer, making marginal food taste better.

I once ate rather abundantly from a Chinese buffet out of town, and went home to my hotel take a shower. While in the shower I became seized by thirst, and couldn't stop drinking the shower water as it pounded my head. MSG will make you go nutty from thirst. 

An extinct, or almost extinct food: LaChoy Chinese food kits. They used to advertise them a lot on American TV, pushing the chow mein kits with those horrible crispy noodles in a can on top. You had to add your own chicken or beef to vegetables in goop. 

Maybe it's still available in some markets, but I think in general people become more discriminating about ethnic foods and the low end crap fell out of favour.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Anyone remember Kia Ora? It was an ostensibly fruit-flavoured soft drink, creamy (or slightly gelatinous) in texture. Delicious yet oddly repulsive IMO.

Jell-O 1-2-3 seemed magical to me, when I was wee...


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

When I was a kid, there was only one orange drink that mattered:


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

How about a two-cents plain? Or an egg cream? They might have been New York City delights, but some of you might have had the joyous experience of drinking one of these summer delights.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

Milk creamsicles - the plain white ones.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Make mine an orange creamsicle and we could enjoy this experience together.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Wishing Well pop...


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Nuff said:


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Give me a Tab.

You can't have a tab unless you order something, kid.

OK then, give me a Pepsi Free.

If you want a Pepsi, kid, you're gonna have to pay for it!


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

New Coca-Cola????
Didn't Tab just become Diet Coke?
The Pepsi "Big Boss" that was most excellent for exploding on the sotre shelves...

What ever happened to McDonald's Pizza?


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

We shall send fjn "back to the future". Be sure to buy Apple stock, my friend.


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

fjnmusic said:


> Give me a Tab.
> 
> You can't have a tab unless you order something, kid.
> 
> ...


Never get bored of that movie. Ever. 

Why do you keep calling me Calvin?


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Orange Crush used to be much more flavourful. 

Tab is now marketed as Tab Energy, a pink girly drink with lots of caffeine served in small designer cans. Last time I saw the original was around 1981 or 1982.


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

SINC said:


> When I was a kid, there was only one orange drink that mattered:


I really like orange soda, although grape flavoured is crap. Fresca is still being manufactured, but long gone from most soda cases. It was very acidic, and you could probably use it as a solvent in addition to a soft drink.


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## johnb1 (Aug 6, 2006)

*Hey EvanPitts*

I can get colt45 across the street from my house-1 quart $5.
How about root beer, banana, or lime popsicles? Haven't seen those in...forever

John B


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

I didn't know they brought back Colt '45 - in a Quart nonetheless. I remember when they came in a special 18 pack. That was in the days when one could get the multipack of Labatts Blue and 50'.

I barely remember root beer popsicles, but my girlfriend was recalling how she used to like the banana ones just last weekend. I don't know anyone that was into the lime ones. I used to like either grape or chocolate.

They used to have these mail in offers, if you collected like a thousand sticks and mailed them in, they'd give you a beach towel...


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

The banana popsicles were gooey and the syrup used to bind to the wrapper. The mail in offers were to: "popsicle Pete."

How about a screwball? A baseball filled with sherbet?


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

I got to thinking that this thread on "extinct foods" was actually intented to talk about foods that our ancestors ate that are no longer available, like old varieties of apples, or lettuce, or whatever. It occured to me that not only is mankind hunting all kinds of plants and animals into extinction - it is also hunting down junk food. 

Yes, we are in the age of the biggest single extinction event of junk food ever witnessed on this world, with hundreds of different junk foods becoming endangered or extinct with every passing week.

I realized that when I couldn't get Mr. Gouda's Tahini Paste last weekend, and had to settle for some name brand that was entirely in Arabic that featured a goat leading a goat herder into town, with a giant sword under the word Tahini (which was the only English word on the package next to the "Guaranteed Pure"). For the record, the Tahini was perfectly fine, though I can't tell you the brand because I don't know how to type in Arabic (though I am sure I could on this Mac).


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Actually, so-called extinct foods are making quite a comeback--look at all of the different types of wheat and grains, Red Fife among them, that are now available. Heirloom tomatoes as well.


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## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

Macfury said:


> Actually, so-called extinct foods are making quite a comeback--look at all of the different types of wheat and grains, Red Fife among them, that are now available. Heirloom tomatoes as well.


And apples. When I was young it was macintosh, red delicious or granny smith. 
I bought 3 lbs of Pink Ladies yesterday which were sitting next to the Braeburns, next to the Fuji's, next to the golden delicious, next to the Ida Reds.... 
I love apples in case you weren't aware.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

How about the vast array of pears, and breads baked with 40 types of grains? When I was a kid it was iceberg lettuce and romaine--I can buy 20 kinds of salad greens now.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

*I Remember Good Tomatoes*

There are many varieties of tomatoes available at the supermarket these days and most of them taste lousy, sometimes peculiar, and they invariably have terrible texture. A local farmer's market has decent ones most of the time but even these don't compare to the beefsteak tomatoes I grew as a teenager - they were large, so succulent, and tasted wonderful. So-called heirloom varieties are intriguing; I suppose I should try growing some...


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

Macfury said:


> Actually, so-called extinct foods are making quite a comeback--look at all of the different types of wheat and grains, Red Fife among them, that are now available. Heirloom tomatoes as well.


What I had in mind when I began the thread was extinct food _products_ and not produce. I agree there's more variety these days, and remember when a "salad" was iceberg lettuce and pulpy pink tomato, topped off with thousand island dressing. People are demanding better quality and more variety now. 

Some very good foods don't occur in nature, such as broccoli and pluot plums, which is a apricot/plum hybrid. They're the best! :love2:


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

The Doug said:


> There are many varieties of tomatoes available at the supermarket these days and most of them taste lousy, sometimes peculiar, and they invariably have terrible texture.


A lot of tomatoes have been genetically engineered - and have some of the genes that form bones in fish in order to give them a greater shelf life. You can tell those ones because they have a hard core that is kind of splintery.

If one wants the best tomatoes, you really have to go to Essex County, where they grow tomatoes for the Heinz plant in Leamington. Some years the tomatoes are actually too juicy and tasty, and I end up from heartburn from eating a whole plate of them.

For many years we used to grow owr own tomatoes. We started when we were living at the apartment (which faced south), and had two large pots of cherry tomatoes. This time of year one could pick fresh ones pretty much every day. We used to grow enough at the house that we could can dozens of bottles of chili sauce for the winter. They are easy to grow, and if one has a place with lots of light, it's worthwhile because they are much better tasting than those from the store.


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## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

EvanPitts said:


> A lot of tomatoes have been genetically engineered - and have some of the genes that form bones in fish in order to give them a greater shelf life. You can tell those ones because they have a hard core that is kind of splintery.


uhHmmm ...and we share 40% of our genetic code with lettuce. What part of us is green and crunchy?:lmao:


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

ErnstNL said:


> uhHmmm ...and we share 40% of our genetic code with lettuce. What part of us is green and crunchy?:lmao:


I really do not want to speculate. The Hammer is filled with people that have lettuce for brains...


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

*Playbox* cookies (by Peek Freans if I remember correctly...). These were small hard cookies with a thin coating of hard sugar icing on one side. They came in at least three shapes - circular, square, hexagonal etc. The icing was brightly coloured with a little musical instrument such as a trumpet or drum imprinted in a contrasting coloured bit of icing. They were my absolute favourite cookies...


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

The Doug: My wife still talks fondly of Playbox cookies. Also the original Sun Wheat cookies which contained actual ground up bone for calcium.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

Anyone remember Woman's Bakeries??

They had Scotch pies to die for.

Sad to see them crushed by more major players.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

^^^
We used to have one called Simon's in The Hammer which was excellent - but they passed away many years ago.

The local college used to have an excellent cafeteria, and many of the staff were placements from the college's own restaurant program. Good food at a good price, and they would stay open late for the night school students, which was great because I didn't have time to stop for supper on the way in from work. But they scrapped the program some years ago, and now it is all of the regular fast food garbage that is everywhere. Good, nutritious, tasty foods are extinct on campus these days - it's now all about fats and salts.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

iJohnHenry said:


> Anyone remember Woman's Bakeries??


A few years ago, they were putting up new signs somewhere on the Danforth in Toronto and one of the old Woman's Bakery signs was still in place behind the one they were taking off. Good stuff they used to make.

At Tom's Dairy Freeze out in the west end of Toronto they still call a strawberry sundae made with chocolate ice cream a "June Bride."


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

Yep, been in that very store.

We lived just South of The Danforth, just East of Greenwood Ave.


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## bryanc (Jan 16, 2004)

I'm actually optimistic that, given the skyrocketing cost of fuel, we're going to see a resurgence of local products in our markets.

If we could only get the tax laws that allow corporations to write off transportation costs, this would happen a lot faster and a lot more significantly. It always pains me to find apples from New Zealand are cheaper than locally grown apples in my grocery store. I buy the local ones anyway.

Cheers


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Why shouldn't they write off the cost of transporting their goods? It's just another input cost. How would that change the price of apples coming in from New Zealand anyway?


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

Simple, New Zealand takes them off, we put them back on.

Either that, or I need to re-read your post after a couple of Kilkenny's (which are not discounted due to transportation costs, at all).


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

If you had a worldwide agreement to prevent the deduction of transportation costs maybe. 

If Canada did it alone, it would just mean that our exports would suddenly become far more expensive and less competitive, while the price of local produce would rise, since the 50-mile trip into town would no longer be deductible. Those New Zealand apples would be cheaper still by comprison.


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

Original Fizzies.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Chf-Boy-Ar-Dee Pizza with sweet sausage in the sauce mix--in the green box.


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## bryanc (Jan 16, 2004)

Macfury said:


> Why shouldn't they write off the cost of transporting their goods? It's just another input cost. How would that change the price of apples coming in from New Zealand anyway?


Because transportation costs should be included in the purchase price of the goods (as should disposal/recycling costs). This wouldn't change the real price of the apples, but it would dramatically change the price the consumer was charged, and that's my point.

I have no problem with letting the market sort these problems out (indeed, I think the market is our only hope, because governments obviously can't do it), but in order for the market to work, the *actual* costs of the goods have to be reflected in what the consumer pays when she buys them.

If this were the case, local goods would almost always be cheaper than imported goods, and people would tend to buy imports when there weren't good local alternatives. That would obviously be a good thing.



Macfury said:


> If Canada did it alone, it would just mean that our exports would suddenly become far more expensive and less competitive, while the price of local produce would rise, since the 50-mile trip into town would no longer be deductible. Those New Zealand apples would be cheaper still by comprison.


Yes, this is a real problem, and I don't see any simple solution. Hopefully some smart economists/tax lawyers can suggest something about this. To some extent, governments might help here... if imported goods don't have transportation costs included, that could be added as a tariff... but that seems awfully unwieldy.

But even without removing the tax deduction for transportation, as transportation costs start exceeding the profits of selling the goods, that deduction is just going to decrease the loss companies take shipping low-value merchandise halfway around the world. So at least we'll start to see some improvement soon.

Cheers


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

bryanc: I think costs alone will achieve some return to local production.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Dr.G. said:


> We shall send fjn "back to the future". Be sure to buy Apple stock, my friend.


I'm glad you got it, Doc!


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

Candy cigarettes. They're not very p.c. anymore, but as a kid I liked them. I don't smoke either.


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

Macfury said:


> Chf-Boy-Ar-Dee Pizza with sweet sausage in the sauce mix--in the green box.


Or even just the regular version. My better half won't touch the Kraft, too much sugar in the sauce.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

An oldie but a goodie ................ where I come from.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

MissGulch said:


> Candy cigarettes. They're not very p.c. anymore, but as a kid I liked them. I don't smoke either.


Now they're called candy sticks. They even took the red "lit" ends off so kids don't think they're modelled after real cigarettes. Boy, here in Alberta, 7-Elevens have sure become a whole lot less colorful since they have to hide the cigarettes behing these bland beige metal cases.


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

fjnmusic said:


> Boy, here in Alberta, 7-Elevens have sure become a whole lot less colorful since they have to hide the cigarettes behing these bland beige metal cases.


They could get those wallpaper murals, paste 'em up, and use an Olfa knife to cut between the "shutters".

A forest glen, depicting fresh, clean air, would be fitting.


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## adagio (Aug 23, 2002)

I miss real licorice candies. The kind that were so bad for you they taste great.

There were licorice pipes/cigars, black balls and black babies. They had so much carbon in them your lips and tongue would be black for ages. 

I don't know what the fuss was about eating them. I had my fair share and I'm still alive and kicking.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

fjnmusic said:


> Now they're called candy sticks.


And yet, Popeye still has a pipe in his mouth on the box...


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Macfury said:


> And yet, Popeye still has a pipe in his mouth on the box...


Probably because pipe smoking has not "legally" been proven to cause cancer...

And why did the pipe smoking Popeye end up on candy cigarettes in the first place?


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Macfury said:


> And yet, Popeye still has a pipe in his mouth on the box...


Freud said that sometimes a pipe is only a pipe.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

EvanPitts said:


> And why did the pipe smoking Popeye end up on candy cigarettes in the first place?


The pipe is an introductory addiction that will soften the kids up for cigarettes.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Macfury said:


> The pipe is an introductory addiction that will soften the kids up for cigarettes.


Then they should have had Popeye Pipes for the kiddies. The main problem with the candy cigarettes was that they were so hard to light...


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

And once you lit them, they were hard to put out. My brother went to the hospital after accidentally putting the lit end in his mouth.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

bryanc said:


> Because transportation costs should be included in the purchase price of the goods (as should disposal/recycling costs). This wouldn't change the real price of the apples, but it would dramatically change the price the consumer was charged, and that's my point.


Not to derail this too much, but most products and definitely most produce is FOB origin and the buyer always pays transportation. Those costs are incorporated into the base cost of goods and additional transportation is then incorporated into the wholesale price and further down the chain right down to the consumer. Along with warehousing costs, distribution costs, etc...etc....etc...


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## ComputerIdiot (Jan 8, 2004)

MissGulch said:


> What I had in mind when I began the thread was extinct food _products_ and not produce. I agree there's more variety these days, and remember when a "salad" was iceberg lettuce and pulpy pink tomato, topped off with thousand island dressing. People are demanding better quality and more variety now.
> 
> *snip*


You must have been an invisible guest at our table when I was growing up ... although I personally used to prefer that gloppy bright-orange French dressing.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

MissGulch said:


> ...*pluot plums*, which is a apricot/plum hybrid. They're the best! :love2:


Just had one. Juicy and utterly delicious. Maybe I'll have another...


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

ComputerIdiot said:


> You must have been an invisible guest at our table when I was growing up ... although I personally used to prefer that gloppy bright-orange French dressing.


What ever happened to that kind of dressing? Was it banned by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission???


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

EvanPitts said:


> What ever happened to that kind of dressing? Was it banned by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission???


We never got bottled dressing at home at all. When I discovered that glop, I recall eagerly dousing my french fries with it.


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

.


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## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

I miss 'real' Fresca. Not the overly sweet artificially sweetened stuff they sell now-a-days, but the 'less real sugar' variety. Very refreshing and quite tart.

In the pop aisle, there also used to be all sorts of different Crush flavours - not just orange and grape (if those even still exist), but cream soda, lime, grapefruit. All in 10 oz refillable glass bottles. Nothing better on a hot summer day. Cans just don't cut it.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I used to love to pull those bottles out of ice water in the coolers they used to have in the variety stores. Way colder than the refrigerators.


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

Macfury said:


> I used to love to pull those bottles out of ice water in the coolers they used to have in the variety stores. Way colder than the refrigerators.


Yeah, what was it about those old coolers that made the pop seem colder than from any common refrigerator? Was it possibly the simple fact the relatively heavy glass bottles of yore maintained the chill longer?


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## iJohnHenry (Mar 29, 2008)

There may be something in that.

I have stopped using my beloved Guinness glasses for Kilkenny because they are so thin.

I have some very old gas station give-aways that you could drive nails with.

Much better.


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